


A Heroine's Beginning

by Generic_fangirl



Category: Cinderella (Fairy Tale), Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Family, Fantasy, Friendship, Minor Character Death., Original Character(s), Retelling, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2018-11-30 01:34:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 64,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11453241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Generic_fangirl/pseuds/Generic_fangirl
Summary: Marion is a lowborn girl with a love of stories and adventure. Life, however, is slightly different. At a young age, she goes to work at the local manor, which sets off a chain of events that will shape her life and her view of the world.Part of 'A Heroine's Journey' series





	1. Prologue

Prologue

Accept my lot in life.

That was always my biggest challenge, I was never quite satisfied with what I had. I am aware that makes me sound like a spoiled child, as so many in this world have it much worse than I, but I could never help the way I feel. My fanciful imagination would never cease to torment me with wild adventures, epic quests, heroic deeds and fantastical stories.

However, real life is a sorry disappointment to my imagined world. All the responsibilities and bores of life could never compare to the stories in my head.

As a lowborn girl, of no rank or money, no one has ever expected much from me. No one in the history of my family has done anything particularly worthy of note.

Our small village has contained the same families for as far back as anyone can remember, and most people have the same backbreaking job for their entire lives. Farm labourers never rise above their station, and the local nobility do not really engage with us much.

However, our lord does not mistreat us in any way, and his wife and daughter seem pleasant enough when they attend large gatherings. So, from a very young age I was taught to accept my station in life, and never aspire to anything higher.

But however hard I tried to, I held onto my hopes of some sort of magical intervention, that would save me from the dull life ahead.

My parents are to blame for these hopes, they taught me to read and write, and tell me folk stories of our land as I fell asleep. As I got older, they told me to re tell the stories to my younger siblings when they came along, as my mother grew more and more fatigued the more children she had.

By the time little Gwen was born, Mother had eight children and a house to look after. So, it was only natural that I, as the eldest daughter, started to help out around the house, cleaning, cooking and learning how to mend and sow. I exchanged my books for broom and stew pot.

However, the tasks that I did, day in day out, did not require much thinking about, which afforded me more time to daydream about the tales of olde. I would recite them to the little ones while I kneaded bread and scrubbed pots.

The five boys would always prefer the stories of epic battles, Ogre raids, wars and sword fights, and I would often find them in the meadow outside the village re-enacting the famous battle of Hortensia, with little Robbie being lifted up onto Alexander's back, like he was riding a horse and the three-year old screaming 'charge' into Alexander's ear as he ran towards Daniel, who carried Tom on his back. Richard would always be sat on the grass watching carefully for the moment for him to enter the battle as the legendary commander, the King, who shared his name.

They had played this scene so many times that he knew exactly when the moment that his imaginary army would enter the fray, like they actually did so many years ago, and win the battle for the Uphranians. As soon as Tom jumped off Daniel's back to continue to fight desperately on foot, determined to conquer the land, Richard would race down the hill, yelling 'Victory to Uphrania' at the top of his small voice. It always ended the same way, with Tom and Daniel being crushed by the other three lying on top of them, all giggling the way small boys do after running around.

The girls however, preferred to listen to the stories of romance and magic. Clara sat dreamy eyed as I re told the story of the golden haired princess, trapped in a tower, until she runs away and discovers her magical powers, and sets off all alone to find her missing family. Clara sighs loudly as I dramatize the meeting of the princess with the servant boy in the forest who assists her in her quest. At the end of the story, when the princess, now discovering her identity, chooses a simple life with the servant boy over royalty, Clara always smiles gleefully to herself, I dare say she holds out hopes to one day be as loved by someone. Gwen however, was still a baby, and did not have a preference of story genre. She mainly just gurgled at most things.

But, as is the way with the world, when a poor family has eight children, the income of one labourer father cannot sustain the household for very long. Mother used to work a little when there was less of us, but her tiredness had grown so that it was now impossible for her to work. Therefore, it was left to me to leave home and find a position. At the age of fourteen, I packed my bag of three dresses, all with my name stitched into the back by my mother, and moved out of my family home.

I found a position as a scullery maid to the lord of the manor, Sir Henry. I had seen him and his family a few times in my life, and knew that the daughter could not be more than one or two years older than myself. She was a pretty blonde thing, who had always seemed full of life whenever I could catch a glimpse of her. Maybe I could see her more now I was to live with them, in the attic, but still with them none the less. As much as I loathed being parted from my family, I knew it was not permanent, they still lived in the same village as me, and I would have Sunday afternoons off to visit them, and the position I held was not going to be a terrible one.

So that day, I left that poor cottage with my head held high, my mind still full of stories, and my heart full of hopes. How little I knew then of what was to come, and how that magic intervention which I so prayed for would change my life in ways I could not conceive of then.

For as I later learned, magic is very real, and I should have been more careful with what I wished for.

What a fool I was.

 


	2. Chapter 1- The Manor House

Chapter One.

My first day of my new life was certainly an interesting one.

And it was cold.

The ground was wet with dew which seeped into my thin boot and made my feet icy cold, but I was determined to ignore it. It was the first day of my adult life, and nothing was going to spoil it.

The birds were singing their early morning song as the rays of the sun peeped over the top of the hedges lining the path. The grey stone of the house then came into view, and it almost seemed to be shining in the morning light. I stopped and stared at the sheer enormity of the house, with four floors and walled gardens.

To many other people, the manor would not seem that large, but to me after living in a cottage with a single floor and only three bedrooms, this house could have been a palace and I would not have known any different.

The first twinge of fear crept into my mind, I had no idea how I was to find my way around the house, I would take me at least a month to find my way from the attic to the kitchens.

I stood frozen for a moment in front of the manor, wanting to go back home, spend the rest of my life content to tell my siblings stories of adventures and romances. But in my heart, I knew that they need me here, more than they need me at home. I must do my part to help them, and there is no escaping that fact.

So, I slowly turned and put one foot in front of the other and headed, a step at a time, towards the back of the house.

As I rounded the corner, the small porch came into sight, with a weather beaten staircase leading up to it. The steps were rather uneven in places, and I told myself to take note, for if I was to carry anything up and down these stairs, I did not want to trip. I ascended the stairs rapidly, and lifted my fist to rap lightly on the door.

The door flew open after a minute of waiting, and I was surprised to see a young bright face staring at me. Her blonde curls fell around her face, framing it prettily. She smiled at me, and turned her head curiously to one side.

'Do I know you?' She inquired.

'I don't think so' I replied nervously.

'I could have sworn I have seen you before, are you from the village?'

'Yes, I'm Marion Brown. My father is-'

'Mr Brown, Yes! I do know where I've seen you before. You were at the May Day dance. You were playing with some other children by the river. Are they your friends?'

'My brothers and sisters.' I responded. I wasn't aware that our playing was of any interest to anyone else.

'Really? All of them? How many do you have?' She seemed genuinely shocked.

'7' I replied quickly.

'Gosh, I should have liked to have a brother or sister to play with, but there is only me.'

'MISS ELLA?' A loud voice came from down the hall.

The blonde girl whipped her head around to see who was approaching and smiled.

'Mrs Pole, I only answered the door. No one else was around.' She said sweetly.

'And that was kind of you, but you know you shouldn't be answering the back door, it's not your place.' An older woman came into sight, with a kind face and her greying hair tied back into a bun, with stray bits spilling out a little.

'I know.' The girl who seemed to be called Ella replied, 'But she was waiting out in the cold.' She explained, gesturing to me.

The woman glanced around the edge of the door to see me stood there. I could feel the cold now, the wind was bracing and making my hair whip around my face painfully.

'Ah, you must be the new girl. Hannah's daughter.' She asked.

I nodded and dipped a small curtsy. 'Marion, ma'am'

The woman let out a small chuckle. 'I don't know why you're curtsying to me dear, the lady of the house is here.' Her head inclined towards Ella.

It then hit me that this blonde haired girl must be Sir Henry's daughter. I had only ever seen her from a distance, so had not recognised her when she opened the door. My cheeks started to burn and my eyes stared at the ground as I fell into the largest curtsy I could manage with my bag in my hand.

Unfortunately, my bag hit the ground with such force that it burst open, and my dresses practically flew out. They almost seemed alive in the wind, dancing and flying around the courtyard, before sadly then landing, two of them in a rather large muddy puddle and the other on the cobbled stones. I ran towards the puddle as fast as my legs would allow, but to my dismay, the water had already begun to seep into the fabric, which was turning them a rather horrid shade of brown.

To my surprise, I saw Miss Ella crouched next to me, also trying to remove the other dress from the muddy water. I averted my eyes and tried to take my ruined dress from her, to embarrassed that a lady should be helping me with my mistake. She resisted when I tried to grab the dress from her.

'Are you alright?' She asked.

'I'm ever so sorry miss, so sorry. May I have my dress back?' I replied in a quiet voice.

'It is fine, I'll carry it in, your hands are full anyway.' My head snapped around to look at her incredulously, why would a high born lady offer to help me with my laundry?

'But Miss, your dress is getting dirty!' The filthy water was indeed bleeding into her pale blue dress. 'I can manage.'

'Truly, I do not mind.' She responded, and without waiting for me to protest, she set of back towards the house. I hurried after her and through the door, my head down following her down a corridor that lead through to the kitchens. Ella deposited my dress on the back of a chair by the fire. The woman who had come to the door gave her a disapproving look, and tutted quietly to herself as she handed her a clean wet cloth to tidy herself up with.

Ella giggled and dipped her finger into the porridge pot that was cooking on the stove and quickly put her finger in her mouth. The woman laughed as she scolded her, and told her to wait until breakfast. With that, Ella gave me one more smile and said 'Good luck' and ran off upstairs. I decided in that moment, that I really liked Miss Ella, I wouldn't mind serving her.

'Right, Marion.' My entire body turned when I heard my name. The woman was staring at my dirty dresses.

'These need to be dealt with before they become ruined forever.' She lifted all the wet clothes up and dropped them into a wooden tub, filled with soapy water. She thrust a scrubbing brush into my hand and said' I trust you know what to do with this?'

I nodded quickly.

'My name is Mrs Pole, Housekeeper. Any questions, just shout, alright?'

I nodded again.

'Talkative little thing, aren't you?' She chuckled.

I was surprised at this, at home I was always the chatty one. I would always be telling some story, or instructing them, or even just singing to myself to pass the time. I hadn't realised that my nervousness of today had made me practically mute. So, instead of protesting against her comment, I simply nodded again, and she walked away laughing to herself.

I looked at the worn down brush in my hand, it was much newer than the one we owned at home, and had many more bristles. Maybe scrubbing clothes was not going to be so much of an arduous task here. In fact, just glancing around the kitchen, everything here looks in better condition than what we owned, but I supposed that was to be expected, coming from a wealthy family. My nervousness eased a little, this job did not seem to be as bad as I had come to imagine it might be. So, with that resolve, I bent my head to the tub and began to scrub.


	3. Chapter 2- A New Friend.

Chapter Two.

After scrubbing the dirt of my clothes until my hands were red and raw, I carried them outside in search of a washing line. The cold wind hit me like a wall as I stepped outside, and I struggled down the steps, arms full of dripping clothes. The washing line was situated around the far side of the house, attached to the stone wall of the house and a pole rammed into the ground.

But much to my surprise, there was already a girl stood there hanging out washing, humming a tune as she worked. Her long black hair was tied up out of her face by a startling blood red ribbon. She looked several years older than me, around seventeen or eighteen. Her eyes flitted up when I rounded the corner, but continued to work.

'You must be the new girl.' She said without looking at me.

'Yes, I'm Marion.' I replied quietly. When she didn't reply, I started to look on the line for a place to hang my dresses. However, she had clearly been out here a while, and so space was scarce.

'Put them down there, on that pile.' She gestured with her elbow towards a pile of wet clean clothes in a wicker basket on the floor. I scurried around the end of the line and quickly deposited the dresses on top. I then stood awkwardly by the pile, unsure of my next instruction.

'Are you going to just stand around all day, or are you going to help me?' She asked with raised eyebrows?

I snapped out of my daze, I was here to work, not stand about all day. I grabbed a handful of pegs and tried to find space to hang clothes up, to no avail. The girl sighed, and put down the clothes in her arms, and lifted a string tied to the wall and pulled it until the small loop on the end hooked over a notch on the pole, creating another washing line.

I quickly grabbed some wet clothes and hastily started to hang them up. So hastily in fact, that I knocked over the bag of pegs and they spilled all over the ground.

The girl laughed as I frantically scooped them up, my hands already hurting and tears began to prick my eyes. It seemed vastly unfair that she should make fun of me on my first day. It wasn't until I looked behind me and saw her picking up some the pegs, gently smiling at me, that I realised she wasn't making fun of me at all, she was just amused by my clumsiness. I placed the pegs in my hand back into the bag, and she did the same.

'You needn't looked so frightened, I don't bite.' I hadn't realised my face was pulling an expression of fear.

'Sorry, just first day nerves.'

'Don't worry, I can't go any worse than my first day.' She chuckled.

'Well, I've already dropped my dresses into a muddy puddle, in front of the Miss as well!' I told her.

'I was dusting out the drawing room, when I accidentally knocked over a candle that was lit by the window, and the curtains caught alight. I didn't know what to do, so I screamed for help, and the master came running in, and put it out with a jug of water. Ever since then, they have never let me forget it'. I laughed a little at this, I was not the only one who had been humiliated, and this made me feel slightly better.

'Everyone makes mistakes now and then.' She told me. 'Now, come on, this washing isn't going to dry itself, and I have plenty more things to be getting on with.' So I picked up my dresses, and began to work.

The rest of the day passed mainly without incident. I was shown to my room, which I was sharing with the servant girl from the morning, who I found out was called Jane. She was the resident house maid, and I was to help out in the kitchen mainly, and occasionally in the main house to light the fires, and to serve at larger social gatherings.

I was very happy with this arrangement, I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of the family any more than I had already. As I placed my bag under my new bed, I kept thinking about the new adventure ahead of me. It is true that is wasn't likely to be an adventure like in the stories I loved so much, but this was the first time I had been away from home, and away from the watchful eyes of my parents, I was free to make my own choices. I did love my family dearly and I would be visiting them on my days off, however the promise of possibility excited me. I carefully removed the one book I had brought with me from the bag, it was the only one I had ever owned, and I had read it countless times.

The fraying red cloth cover felt familiar on the small table next to my bed. I could just about make out the title imprinted on the spine.

'Folk tales of Exodia'

I had memorised most of these tales by the time I was nine. These were the bed time stories I listened to every night, and the ones I told my siblings.

My own ideas for stories were scribbled on the back pages and the cover. One of my favourite ideas was the servant girl who fell in love with the prince at a royal romantic ball. The servant girl is accidentally invited, and she receives magical assistance from a fairy to help her to go. The prince and her fall in love at first sight, and have a wonderful evening, however the next day, the king believes in protocol and station and will not allow them to marry. The girl is banished from the kingdom, but the prince follows her over the seas, and they marry regardless, and the king is punished for denying true love a chance of happiness. They all eventually reconcile, and the royal couple lives happily ever after.

I quickly finished unpacking, not that there was much to unpack. I ran back down the kitchen, only getting lost three times. A stout small woman greeted me there, her ginger hair escaping her mop cap, and her apron covered in various food stains. She introduced herself as Mrs Taylor, the cook. I was set to work washing the pots and pans in the corner, and so the rest of my first day passed.

When I climbed the stairs back to my bedroom, I made a wrong turn somewhere halfway down the corridor, and came to a small wooden door. It wasn't locked, so I pushed it open out of curiosity and looked through. Inside was a very long and winding staircase leading up a tower. I guessed it lead to the attic.

Just then a large gust of wind swept through the tower and made me shiver with cold. I couldn't imagine anybody willingly going up there, it was too cold and dark. I shut the door and tried to retrace my steps, the corridor looked very different in the dark than it did in the light. I reached another door, slightly larger than the other one with a light shining underneath it, so I pushed it open.

To my amazement, there facing me was an entire shelf of books. Old books, new books, some covered in dust and some completely worn out like they had been read too many times. My mouth fell open as I gaped at it. I never knew anyone could possess so many books. I had only ever owned one book in my life, and there was no book seller in the village, my father had acquired it from a travelling salesman. My fingers ached to touch them, to see if they were real, and my mind wanted to know the stories they contained.

'Can I help you?'

My head snapped around, I was not aware anyone else was in the room. Sitting in the window seat, curled up under a blanket, was Miss Ella. The book she had been reading was left open on her knee and she gazed curiously at me.

'Oh, miss, I'm sorry. I got lost and-' I stuttered, attempting to explain myself.

'No need to explain, it's a big house.' She said kindly. After a moment of silence, she asked 'Do you like to read?'

'Yes, I love stories!' I exclaimed loudly, before I could stop myself.

'I like stories too, have you read this one?' she enquired.

I glanced at the spine of the book. It read 'The tales of Robin Hood.' I shook my head.

'I've only ever read one book,' I admitted.

'Well, you don't know what you're missing out on! Which book have you read?'

'The folk tales of Exodia.'

'Oh, that collection of fairy tales? No, you need to read more than that.'

I was slightly hurt by this, I loved those tales. But I was eager to read more, however I had never had the opportunity to.

'I don't have another book to read' I told her.

'Don't be silly!' She exclaimed, 'You can read those' She gestured to the bookcase behind me. My mouth fell agape again.

'I couldn't possibly! They aren't my books!' I told her.

'You live here, of course you can borrow these. It's not like they are leaving the house. And all they are doing at present is gathering dust. I'm sure they would be put to better use if someone actually read them.' I had to agree with her.

'Go on, pick one out' she urged me. I stared at her, and then slowly turned around to stare at the bookshelf. The endless leather and cloth bound books almost called to me, begging to be read, the stories they held wanting to be told. There almost seemed far too many to choose from, and to me, who had very little experience in this matter, the choice seemed daunting.

I continued to stare at the book shelf for a good while, attempting in vain to read the titles etched onto the spines, but that gave very little away about the content. Ella has noticed my inability to choose just one, so got up from her window seat to join me, moving her gaze over the books. She eventually reached up her left arm to grab a small book with the word 'Utopia' written on the side, it's cloth coloured an off shade of white, as though it had been on that shelf for many a year.

'It's not really a story book, it's more of a philosophical work, but very interesting all the same. I think you might find it intriguing.' She said, handing me the small volume. I stared at it, and thanked her.

'It's nothing, really. Go and enjoy it, and come back to me when you're done. I'd like to hear a fresh opinion of it.'

I thanked her again and dipped into a low curtsey. She laughed lightly, and I stood up mortified. 'There is no need for that!' She exclaimed. 'We're friends.'

'But, I'm a maid, miss. Shouldn't I be curtseying to you and your family?' I asked. My mother had told me before I set off that morning to always greet or thank a member of the family I served with a curtsey.

'Well, maybe before my parents, but I do not mind. I would much rather have a friend than a maid.' She told me with a smile. 'Now, go on, you should be going to bed, you've had a long day, and I want that book finished as soon as possible' She added with a giggle. I smiled at her and bade her goodnight, then disappeared back through the doorway I came out of, and hurried back down the dark corridor, clutching my newest temporary possession tightly in my hand.

I eventually found my bedroom, and saw Jane was already there, washing her face in the small basin by the window. I quickly placed the book down on the table and disappeared behind the screen to change into my night clothes. By the time I had emerged, she was putting out the candles.

'Please may we leave one burning?' I asked her. I desperately wanted to get started on this new book.

'Why?' she inquired, 'It's been a long day, you need to get some sleep.'

'I would like to read.' I answered her.

She sighed loudly. 'Could you not read it tomorrow?'

My face fell. Jane looked at me for a moment and then said, 'Alright, you can read a little, but you have to promise to blow out the candle when you are done, and not too late mind you! I will not be blamed for starting another fire again, do you hear me?'

I nodded silently, not entirely sure if she was teasing me or not. She then sank onto her bed and turned away from the candle. I sat on my bed, and eagerly opened the small book, and became absorbed in it.

I really did love to read.


	4. Chapter 3- Adjusting

Chapter Three.

I was awoken the next morning by an abrupt shake. I batted it away like I did most mornings when one of my younger siblings decided to wake me by jumping on me, or shaking me violently. However, this morning I was met with an older girl's voice, and I took me a second to realise I was not at home any more, but in the servants wing of the manor house.

The sun was only just rising, and rays could be seen, stretching light above the clouds. It was bitterly cold, and a thin layer of mist hung just above the ground, swirling and fading. The sky was mainly clear, and the robin's egg blue colouring was bright and comforting, even in the cold.

I reluctantly rolled out of bed, and quickly got changed into my now dry dress, and started to follow Jane down the stairs, who was already changed and prepared for the day, still wearing her blood red ribbon in her hair. She turned sharply to look at me, and sent me back into the room to fix my hair, which in the process of getting changed quickly, I had neglected to see to. I asked her what was wrong with it, but she replied that if I was going to be working all day, I was going to need to tie my hair back at least.

Jane sat me down on a stool and began brushing it ferociously, I decided she was clearly one of those people who thought that the more pain you went through, the better the result. My mother was like this, she never thought we were clean until our skin was red and raw, but to be fair, for many of my brothers, their skin never was clean until it got to that state anyway. Jane asked if I had a ribbon, or a pin, and pointed to the small bag by my bed which contained a single green ribbon. She pulled it out, and began to deftly gather up my hair into a braid, and secured it with the ribbon. When she let me go, my scalp felt a little sore, but the braid seemed very secure. We then made our way downstairs.

Even though the family had not arisen yet, there was still plenty of work to be done, and Mrs Pole made efficient use of everyone to hand. I was set to work, lighting the fires in the main part of the house. Then I was to accompany Jane as she showed me how light the fires in the bedroom, with minimal disturbance to the family. We crept quietly along the hallway and arrived at the master bedroom, and went it.

I had never believed that bedrooms could be that size, but I was proved wrong. The room was well furnished, but not so much as to feel like there were objects just for the sake of displaying them. It was coloured a light shade of yellow, which gave it a feeling of happiness and summer. There was a large four poster bed in the centre of the wall, with blue velvet curtains drawn around it. We set to work as quickly and as quietly as we could, before tiptoeing out of the room.

We moved down the hallway to the next occupied room, which was Miss Ella's. I expected to find a similar scene in there to the room we had previously been in, but when we opened the door, we were greeted by the sight of Miss Ella curled up on the floor, by the fire, soot and cinders staining her face. I started forward, wondering if she was ok, but Jane held me back and closed the door quietly. She explained to me how they normally find Miss Ella like this, she likes to stay up late reading, but is not permitted to leave candles burning all night, and so she curls up by the light of the fire to read, and often falls asleep there, and it's best to not disturb her.

Jane began to head back down to the kitchen when I stopped her.

'Aren't we going to light the fire in the Mistress's room?' I asked.

'Whatever for? The mistress isn't in there.' She replied.

I looked at her puzzled. 'The mistress sleeps in the master's room.' She explained. I do not know why I was so surprised by this, my own parents sleep in the same bed, but I had always been told that high born people like to have their own private space and there is normally a separate bedroom for the mistress. I had been told there was a mistress bedroom in the manor, so I had just assumed that there is where she would be sleeping. I nodded in understanding and followed Jane back to the kitchen.

The rest of the day was fairly monotonous. As a scullery maid, my main job was to help the cook by primarily washing the dirty pots, pans and plates. I spent all morning scrubbing away at a particularly grimy old porridge pot, that hadn't been left to soak.

By midday, my hands were aching and I was very grateful for the bowl of broth I was given by Mrs Taylor, the cook. The afternoon was very similar, more pots and pans and some silver to polish. At the end of the day when I slowly made my way up to my bedroom, my hands were red and hurting, my back ached and I was exhausted. I practically flopped onto the bed when I reached the room. Jane came up after me, and forced me to get up and get changed, stating there was no need to mess up my dress any more than it already was. I reluctantly got up and got changed, and had no objections to Jane blowing out the candles as soon as possible, the book laying on my bed side table had not even crossed my mind, it was much better occupied with dreams and a restful night of sleep.

The rest of the week passed in, with nothing much really of note occurring. Every morning I would be awoken by Jane, who I was beginning to really like. Her no nonsense attitude did not make me dislike her, but rather look upon her as if she were an older sister. As the eldest sibling, I never knew what it was like having someone to look up to that was not your parents.

Every morning, she would insist on tying my unruly mane of hair back out of my face. Then we would be set to work, me lighting the fires, cleaning pots, and polishing cutlery and Jane would go about tidying the house, serving the family at meal times, and doing laundry.

I settled into the routine of the house quickly, my body adjusted to my new working conditions, my hands began to harden, just enough to prevent them being raw on an evening, and my stamina improved meaning that on a night time, I had a little energy left for reading more of Utopia.

I also found that Mrs Taylor the cook liked to talk while she worked, and I began to become more comfortable in her company and started talking more. I even began singing to pass the time while I worked. My voice is not especially good, but it amused me. I would sing songs that told stories, ballads of romances and adventures were my favourite.

Sunday arrived, and I was allowed to leave the manor for an afternoon, so I set off down the road to my home. It was a small cottage on the edge of the field Father worked on, with a thatched roof and small chimney. I could see the smoke rising from it as I walked toward the village. The weather was good, and although it was not warm, the cold was not piercing and painful.

I hadn't seen my family in a week, which was the longest I had ever been away from them. I had missed them, but not as much as I had expected to. I had thought I would be sleepless at night, for not hearing all of the sleeping sounds of them, that I would miss the playing with them in a carefree manner and instantly want to return home, but I did not get the urge.

I think a part of me found my new situation to be different and a little thrilling, like I was finally starting to live my own life. As I approached the cottage, I could already hear the screams and shouts of my siblings from the path. I had no sooner crossed through the gate when the door opened and Tom, Richard and Clara came running out, with Robbie and Gwen toddling out behind them slowly. I was almost knocked over with the shear force that they ran at me with.

They told me all at once how they had missed me, and could I not just come back and stay at home, but with three of them speaking at the same time, the sound that came out was more like a screen of noise which I struggled to decipher. I only got the meaning of the sound after they had all calmed down and little and spoke to me individually.

We eventually made it into the house, where my mother greeted me and told my siblings to run along. Alexander and Daniel who had not rushed out to meet me stood up from where they were sitting at the table, playing a card game, gave me a quick hug, and carried the little ones outside to play. No sooner were they all outside, that the screams and loud noises began again, I imagine much to the dismay of our neighbours.

My mother embraced me, and started to ask questions about the house, what it was like, were the family nice, was I being mistreated, and so forth. I told her all the events of the last week, and she listened closely, but as I spoke, I could see lines around her face, and heavier dark circles under her eyes. My mother had never really had a particularly strong constitution, and after eight births and raising so many children, she was often tired. I guessed it was simply the fact I had not seen her in a week that had made these features prominent. They say you can notice changes in people if you do not see them every day.

We spoke for a good while, me telling her about the things that had happened and the new people I was now living with, and I was told about the daily happenings of the house, that Tom had lost a tooth, Richard had scrapped his knee when climbing, and the small play they had put on to amuse themselves. I smiled at this, I hadn't realised how much I had missed acting out stories, to perform to their parents.

We walked outside to go and see my brothers and sisters, and found them in the middle of a game of 'blind man's bluff', with Daniel blindfolded. Alex carried Robbie on his back, and Clara held Gwen on her hip, as they ran around and laughed and shrieked whenever Daniel got to close. However, Daniel came up to me and tagged me, which earnt me the task of wearing the old cloth. I threw myself into the game as much as I could, chasing after any and all sounds I heard.

My mother laughed at us all, and went back inside, I could hear her retreating footsteps. I was not surprised, she often suffered from headaches and dizzying spells. I eventually caught Richard, and the game continued. We played games all afternoon long, and it wasn't until the sky began to darken that I realised I should be heading back to the manor.

I bade my siblings goodbye, but was stopped by Gwen who had decided to attach herself to my leg, and not let go. This then caused Robbie to do the same thing to my other leg, but Alexander and Daniel managed to pry them off me. I gave them all one last hug and ran inside to say farewell to my mother, but when I got inside, I found her asleep on the bed, so bent over her and gave a kiss on the forehead, and left quietly. I walked out the gate, waving at my brothers and sisters as I walked back up the path, back to the manor house.


	5. Chapter 4- The Mistress

Chapter Four.

The first year of my employment at the manor house, was fairly uneventful, I was woken up every morning by Jane, we worked at our tasks all day, then retired to bed late at night. Jane and I began to form a close friendship, but after all the time we spent together, it was hardly surprising. As my ability to scrub and clean improved, I found myself with more free time, which Mrs Pole could not allow, and set me to work doing other tasks.

Once she discovered my needlework was commendable, she decided I could assist Jane in stitching and mending clothes. I had only ever learned how to stitch my name into the back of clothes, never actually mended anything before, but Jane was a patient teacher and it was not long before I could adjust dresses to fit the ever growing Miss Ella and could add embroidery onto tablecloths and napkins and such. I found I enjoyed stitching, the rhythmic piercing of the fabric and watching the pattern take shape I discovered to be soothing and fulfilling.

Miss Ella had continued to be more than kind to me, she was always lending me books, which I finally got the energy to read. After Utopia, she lent me storybooks, which thrilled and excited me. There was one book in particular that I loved especially, 'The Tales of Robin Hood' which I had seen Ella reading on my first day. She smiled as she handed it to me, as if she knew something I did not. She insisted that I would enjoy it immensely, and may especially find one character extremely interesting.

As I read it, I was transported to a time long ago, where a young man with a strong sense of justice returns home to find corrupt and evil people ruling the land, and so when he is outlawed for doing the right thing, resolves to use his life to bring the wronged people of the nation some happiness, by robbing from the greedy and unjust nobility, to give to the poor to help them feed themselves. He also is madly in love with a certain, Maid Marian.

My heart stopped when I read this part of the book.

Maid Marian was strong and fiercely independent. She also stood up for what was right, but played the game of politics to get justice. She also loved Robin with all her heart, but this would never stop her from doing the upmost she could to help the righteous cause, even if that meant that she and Robin could not be seen together or married. Her passion for life and helping others, made it easier to bear the pain of being separated from him. However, to the nobility of the land, she was a beautiful, confident young lady who could be a little outspoken, but was generally liked amongst them. There were other suitors vying for her hand in marriage, but she turned them all away, and even when some jealous rejected man tried to disrupt her happiness, she always found a way to best them.

Reading this book for the first time, was like looking through mirror, not to see your own reflection, but to see a version of you that you would aspire to be, like looking at the possibility of you. That is how I felt reading about Marian's and Robin's exploits. I aspired to be exactly like her, brave and courageous, even in a world were women were meant to be demure and feeble. It also helped that we practically share the same name, other than that one different letter. Marian's character and story had captured my imagination, and I would never ever forget that.

I borrowed that book many times over the year, and each time I read it, I consciously made an effort to alter my own behaviour to be more like Marian. I was now comfortable enough in my situation to talk to the other members of staff like I had known them all my life. I was no longer the shy little girl, who was paranoid about making mistakes in front of everyone, I had become a bit of a chatter box again. I was always singing or mumbling something while I worked, and even at night, I had been woken up by Jane hitting me with a pillow for mumbling in my sleep.

She really was like an older sister to me now. We would stay up late talking for hours, I would tell her stories I had read, as she had never learnt to read. She much preferred the romantic stories to the adventure ones. Jane would speak to me about her life, her interests and any gossip she heard from the village. But most of all, Jane would talk about her boe, the baker's son from the village, called Michael.

They had been childhood sweethearts, and he takes every opportunity he can to visit her here in the manor. He is always the one who delivers the bread on a morning, and Jane is always the one to greet him by the door. I had seen them a few times, if I was walking down the hallway and saw them out of the window by the back door. Jane had a certain smile, that she only ever wore on her face when Michael was around, and Michael had a sort of goofy grin he would make whenever her name was mentioned or he saw her. I may have only been young, but when I saw them together, I knew it was the sort of love I had read about in the stories. One time, I asked Jane if she and Michael were betrothed, and replied they were not, but there was some sort of understanding between them, that if the question did arise, there would be no doubt of the answer.

Miss Ella had not changed much over that year, if anything, she grew more kind and compassionate. She would often sneak down the kitchen, to steal food and a few times to talk to me about the newest book she gave me. We would sit at the kitchen table for what seemed like an age, with me continuing to sew, and Miss Ella sat with a cup of tea, debating the validity of ideas of a Utopian society, and this or that character from a novel. I would fervently speak out against the evil characters, about what awful people they were, whereas Ella took a different approach, and tried to humanise them, claiming we did not know the circumstances of their lives, or the actions that may have lead them to be unkind.

However, there was one character on which our viewpoints were switched on, Sir Guy of Gisborne, a complex character from 'The tales of Robin Hood'. He also falls in love with Marian, and tries to win her heart on many occasions, but there is the matter of the Sheriff, who he is very loyal to, and many times, his two duties, to his lord and to his heart are contradictory, and he normally chooses his Lord. Ella cannot justify this, as she believes Love and the duty to you heart should win out over all others. I however, can see why he frequently chooses to obey his superior, no one is ever perfect, and the way the world works means you cannot always have the luxury of choosing you heart every time. We playfully argued over this point for some time.

Mrs Pole on the other hand, does not like the idea of wasting time in her kitchen, and so decrees if Miss Ella voluntarily enters the kitchen then she can voluntarily work as well. When Ella protested, Mrs Pole only argues back with that doing chores and learning these things are an essential part of anyone's life, and you never know when they will come in handy.

From then on, when Ella came to visit me, she normally helped out in the kitchen, learning how to cook and bake, which she was really quite proud of and would often serve her parents her own creations. I believed she actually quite liked being put to work, as she no longer had a governess, there was not much to do around the house other than sit, read, draw or play the pianoforte. There was no useful occupation for a lady to do, her mother would oversee the running of the house, handling accounts and so forth, and would go to visit friends and participate in society. Ella however, was not yet eighteen, and so was too young to go.

* * *

 

I only ever really met Lady Eleanor once, a year into my new life, I was walking along the hallway, going to clean the fire places in the master bedroom one afternoon. Sir Henry was away on business, and Lady Eleanor was in the study, completing some task, I know not what. I was not feeling very well that day, all morning I had felt flushed, and a little off, and I had a slight headache, but I was not so ill to not work.

I set down the bucket of brushes next to the fire place and knelt down to begin scrubbing away the dirt and soot. I was there for about half an hour, my mood not really improving, when my stomach went all tight and I was forced to bend forward, clutching my belly. I cried out in pain, unaware of what has happening. I had never experienced this before. Then the door opened and Lady Eleanor walked in to find me curled up on the floor, holding myself in pain. She ran over to me and asked me what was wrong.

'I do not know.' I told her. 'I just hurt around here.' I said, signalling to my belly. She pulled me up and placed me in the chair by the window. She then hurried and reached for a wooden box that was kept on the shelf next to the bed and opened it. Inside, there was a lot of old rags and a bag of herbs. She looked at me kindly.

'Are you bleeding?' She asked. I was very confused. My face must have shown this as she explained if I was bleeding down there, pointing to below my belly. She told me there was nothing to be alarmed about but I should check. She turned away from me and said she would be back in a minute, and left the room. I pulled up my skirts and to my horror saw blood staining them. I started panicking, unsure of what to do. I pushed my skirts back down when I heard footsteps outside the door, and Lady Eleanor returned with a cup of tea. She gently set it down on the table next to me, and began explaining that this was a completely normal thing to happen, and the pain would go away if I drank the tea.

I slowly picked the cup up, and saw that it was not normal tea, but an herbal brew, containing something I did not recognise. I began to sip it and she smiled at me again. By the time I had finished it, she had pulled the rope in the room, signalling for a servant to come. Lady Eleanor told me this is what happens to all women and that it occurred once a month, and it meant I could now have children. Mrs Pole arrived and Lady Eleanor explained to her that my courses have come and I needed some old rags, and maybe even a bath.

Mrs Pole gestured for me to stand and follow her, and as I walked past Lady Eleanor, I thanked her for her kindness. She responded that it was no trouble at all, especially for someone who has been a friend to her daughter. I was startled at this, I did not even think the Lady knew my name or who I was, let alone if I was friends with Miss Ella. I could now see why Miss Ella was so kind and compassionate, with someone like Lady Eleanor for a mother. I smiled at her as I left the room.

Mrs Pole gave me the rest of the day off, and even ran me a bath, a pure luxury. I normally had to make do with washing myself in the basin on the morning and occasionally in the cold water outside. I sat for what seemed like hours in the warm water, I never knew washing could actually be a joy rather than a chore. My muscles loosened and even with the slight pain in my abdomen, I felt relaxed. Mrs Pole had even sneaked some oils into the bathroom and I now smelt of lavender. I now understood why high born people have baths so often, and I decided that if I was ever in a position of money where I could have a bath, I would take it without hesitation.

That night, I lay in bed thinking about Lady Eleanor, how kind she was. Most Mistresses would not do what she did for a scullery maid, they would tend to ignore her and tell her to get back to work. I liked her very much, and I knew how well respected she was amongst the staff. Her husband and daughter adored her, I could frequently hear the sound of laughter drifting its way from the room the family were occupying. The master and mistress never slept separately, and I had never heard them raise their voices to each other. They had a truly blessed life, and I thought I should like to have a similar one, a life that is shared with the people you love, and who love you in return.

Of course, a little adventure and intrigue along the way wouldn't hurt, would it?


	6. Chapter 5- Death in the house

Chapter Five.

I have spoken before of the happiness of Miss Ella and her family. I am sorry to tell you, but that happiness did not last very long.

The beginning of the end of this contentment began after I had worked at the manor for a year, I was now fifteen years old, and Miss Ella was sixteen. Jane was by that point formally betrothed to Michael and the wedding was to take place as soon as Michael got enough money to buy them a house.

We were all very excited about this news, and it would frequently occupy most of our conversations, the arrangements to be made, what sort of flowers Jane would weave into her hair, the dances that would be enjoyed at the wedding celebration. Jane and I would stay up late into the night discussing these details in great length. Our lives otherwise continued as normal, we would rise, work all day, then sleep. We served a wonderful family and were very content with our situation. Miss Ella would still visit the kitchens often, and I was beginning to teach her how to adjust clothes, as her embroidery was already very good.

One night, while the family were at dinner, Jane and I sat by the fire in the kitchen, drinking a cup of tea when the bell was rung twice, this indicated two servants were required to attend. Mrs Taylor was in the pantry, re stocking the shelves and counting the amount of food remaining. Mrs Pole was in her private study, no doubt settling accounts or designating different tasks for the following few days amongst the four of us. Jane stood up, she was the one who normally attended to this sort of thing.

'Come on then.' She told me.

'Why me, I do not serve them at dinner.' I replied.

'Well, they rang for two of us, so someone has got to go.' She reasoned with me, and half pulled me out of the chair, laughing a little at my reluctance to go.

We made our way through the back corridor to the dining room, where the family were stood around Lady Eleanor, whose face was the colour of snow. Sir Henry looked up at us.

'Marion, please clear the plates, and Jane would you accompany Eleanor upstairs to bed please.' His face was lined with worry for his wife, even though she kept insisting that she was fine, just a little dizzy and tired. Jane snaked her arm around the mistress while I began to pile plates up in my arms. When I was about finished, Jane and Lady Eleanor had gotten to the door way when she was wracked with a coughing fit. She moved her sleeve in front of her mouth to cover it, but when the fit subsided, she lowered her arm.

Everyone could see the blood stains left against the light blue of her dress.

Sir Henry stood up immedialty, and shouted to her, but Lady Eleanor had already begun to faint, luckily Jane caught her. Sir Henry raced across the room and picked up his unconscious wife in his arms.

'Get a Physician, NOW.' He shouted. I dropped the plates down on the table and raced out of the room. I ran through the kitchen, stopping to pick up my cloak to keep me warm and ran out into the night. The local physician lived in the village, thought fortunately on the closest side of the village to the manor.

When I arrived at the village, I could see that there was a candle burning in the physician's window, and I sped towards it. By the time I had reached the door, I was out of breath, my lungs hurt, I had a severe pain in my side and my eyes were watering. I pounded on the door as hard as I could. Those moments I waited seemed like hours, until eventually the door opened and Mr Smith stood before me, looking a little annoyed at the lateness of the hour.

'Sorry to disturb you sir,' I began, 'But it's the Mistress, Lady Eleanor, she been taken ill, and she's coughing up blood and fainting.' Mr Smith didn't say a word but walked back inside and began to pack his medical bag quickly and retrieve his cloak. He swiftly blew out the candle that was burning, plunging the house into darkness, and walked purposely towards me.

'How long ago was this?' He inquired when we began to make our way back the up path I had just run down.

'About fifteen minutes ago, sir.' I told him.

'And has she ever displayed these symptoms before?'

'Not that I know of.'

'And no one else in the house is ill?'

'I do not think so sir.'

He fell quiet, as if pondering this new information. I knew a little of Mr Smith, he had visited my mother a few times when she was in her weakened state, and I knew him to be of not very many words. He liked to keep things plain and straight to the point, he didn't have much use for beating around the bush. We walked the rest of the way back to the manor in silence, my mind racing and praying that Lady Eleanor would be alright.

When we arrived, I showed him straight up to the master's room. Inside, there was a sorry scene. Lady Eleanor was laid down on the bed, her complexion a deathly white, blood was lining her lips and a slight trickle of it was making its way down her face from her nose. Ella was holding tightly onto her hand, kneeling at one side of the bed, her cheeks stained with tears. Sir Henry was pacing the space between the bed and the window, and he looked like he had been doing it for some time.

Mr Smith, instantly walked over to his patient to examine her, and I went to go and stand next to Jane who was standing by the door, looking worried.

'How bad is it?' I asked her.

'She's been coughing ever since downstairs. She came around, but I think she is in a great amount of pain.' Jane said, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

'Would you mind staying here? I'm going to go and tell Mrs Pole what is happening, I think one of us should stay here in case they need anything.' I nodded without looking at her, my thoughts too caught up in the sight before me. Jane left, sniffling as she went.

Mr Smith seemed to have finished his examination and walked over to where Sir Henry was pacing. They spoke quietly, but the master's face gave away the meaning of the conversation.

Lady Eleanor was not going to survive.

When they stopped talking, Mr Smith walked out of the room, Sir Henry went over to the bed and lay down on it, picking his wife up in his arms and holding her.

Her chest rose and fell so little, it was almost as though she wasn't breathing. Ella still held her mother's hand tightly in hers, more tears falling down her face when she looked at her father. He was broken. His eyes never leaving his wife's form he addressed me.

'Would you please give us a moment, alone.'

I didn't reply, I simply walked out of the room, my heart full of sorrow. She was only my mistress, not family and even I was affected by her pain. I closed the door behind me to give them some privacy, but I did not go. I sat on the floor in the hallway, just in case they needed something. My own eyes were starting to tear up now. It seemed massively unfair.

She was a good and kind lady and did not deserve to suffer like this. She is not an old woman who has had her time on this earth, she should still have time left.

While I sat there, Mrs Pole came running up the hallway, but stopped when she saw me. Her greying hair was falling out of its bun even more so than usual, her face white with panic. I told her in a quiet voice, that they had requested to be in private and should not be disturbed. She nodded and she came over and sat next to me. We sat there together, not speaking for what seemed like an age, just waiting. We dreaded what would happen when the silence broke.

I am not entirely sure how long it was, but when the silence did break, it was to a terrible moan. We didn't have to open the door to know it was Ella making that sound. The sound was followed by a loud sobbing, and it wasn't isolated. There were two voices crying out in unison, joined in their pain.

We didn't look inside, or ask. We already knew.


	7. Chapter 6- A New Family

Chapter Six.

Two Years Later.

The manor house was in complete disarray. Mrs Pole had ordered a large spring clean of the entire place, everything needed to be dusted and polished, from top to bottom. It had been like this for the past week. Furniture was moved, cupboard's emptied, carpets beaten, silver polished, clothes aired, chimney's cleaned and every last speck of dust was to be banished from the house.

As the only housemaid, it fell to me to have to do most of these activities. Jane got married a few months after Lady Eleanor had died, and had left the manor to live with her new husband, and she was now expecting a new addition to the family. Mrs Pole was very good at organising what needed to be organised, but when it actually came to polishing the silver, or beating the carpets, she was a little worse than useless.

Thankfully, Miss Ella was nearly always on hand to help. She had been devastated at the sudden death of her mother, and it had taken months to get her to become her old self again. She was still kind and compassionate, but in those first few months, she hardly ever smiled. But, that was all in the past, and Ella was once again the cheerful girl she had always been. The pain of her loss had turned to memory.

Miss Ella was quite the cook, she spent a lot of time in the kitchen now, baking cakes and other sweet things. She could make savoury dishes, but Mrs Taylor wouldn't normally allow her to, stating that if Miss Ella continued to make all the food in the house, she would be out of a job, and she couldn't have that. Miss Ella didn't really mind though, she had gotten very good at making little cakes, which she called 'fairy cakes' as they were small. When she wasn't baking, she spent her time with me, usually sowing, but in the last few days, doing whatever task Mrs Pole had assigned to me for that day.

The reason for all of the spring cleaning tasks was that Sir Henry was to be married again. He had never really recovered from his wife's passing, and while he smiled in front of Ella, I sometimes caught him in his study, hunched over some object that belonged to her, crying. I do not believe Ella ever knew of this.

This is why the news of Sir Henry's intention came as a huge shock to me. It was only when he explained to us about the new mistress's family, did it make sense.

The new mistress had two daughters of her own, who were both the same age as Ella. I guessed Sir Henry had hoped that this new wife would be a mother to Ella and also give her some sisters for her to become close with. Other than me, Ella had been isolated from most other people her own age, not intentionally, but it was the way her childhood had happened. However, Ella was now eighteen years old, her childhood days were behind her, she was now a sweet, caring beautiful young woman, with long blonde curls and the same eyes as her mother, a soft hazel colour.

The wedding was to take place next week, and so Mrs Pole had ordered the entire house to be cleaned, from top to bottom, with surfaces so clean you could see your reflection everywhere you went. The manor house became full of mirrors. Ella joked about how the house was now the worst place to play hide and seek in, as you could see every angle from anywhere.

We were outside beating the carpets one day, when I asked Miss Ella is she knew anything about the people who would soon be her family.

'I know that Lady Agatha was an esteemed beauty in her day, and it is said that her daughter Anna, takes after her. I do not know anything about Jaqueline, Father hasn't said anything about her.'

'But do you know what they are like?' I inquired.

'No, only that. I'm sure they are lovely though. And Father would not marry Lady Agatha if she did not have a kind soul, and if he didn't love her.'

I thought about this, and to me it didn't seem like Sir Henry was marrying for love at all. He had met the Lady in question a month ago, proposed marriage almost instantly, and then returned here without her, and only a few pieces of information about her and her daughters.

It was as if she was a complete stranger to him, and I had seen him since, holding tightly onto one of Lady Eleanor's necklaces and staring out of the window, with unshed tears in his eyes. I knew I shouldn't pry into things that did not concern me, but I could help it. I did however keep my thoughts to myself and did not tell Miss Ella anything I knew. The conversation ended and we returned to beating the carpets.

The three Ladies arrived the day before the wedding. We were assembled outside the front door to greet the, Mrs Pole, Mrs Taylor, Miss Ella, Sir Henry and myself. There were also Daniel and Clara, my brother and sister, who had only been employed yesterday, as the family was about to more than double in size.

As the carriage pulled to a halt outside the door, I couldn't help but notice how expensive it looked. The sides had been painted and varnished and kept in excellent repair, the curtains seemed to be made of red velvet, there was a family crest was carved into the side of the main body. The wheel spokes had intricate carvings etched into them and every available space there was for decoration seemed to be filled in with decoration. It must have cost an absolute fortune to buy. The door was opened by the coachman, who then pulled out the step.

The curtain was pulled back and a hand shot out. Sir Henry walked towards the carriage and took the hand and a handsome woman stepped out. She must have been in her forties, but she had a grace about her which made her look younger. Her dress was very well made and fashionable, pulled in at her waist, and made from a dark red muslin. Her hair was elaborately knotted high on her head, and mostly obscured from view by a very large hat, which like the carriage was ornately decorated. She did not smile, only raised her eyebrows when she saw the house. Her piercing blue eyes surveyed all that was around her, but not as though she was looking around a home, but some inconvenience that must be endured.

All the female servants curtsied and Daniel bowed out of respect for their new mistress, but she did not even glance our way. With her head held high, she walked, no strutted right past all of us, and even Miss Ella without so much as thought. Another lady stepped out of the carriage, assisted by Sir Henry. She was much younger than the first one, but just as handsome, her blonde hair secured firmly in the most complicated hairstyle I had ever seen in my life. There were large braids and smaller braids knotted together, and what seemed to be ribbons and jewelled pins weaving in and out of the design.

It looked hideous.

The lady herself behaved in exactly the same way as her mother, paraded right past all of us, with her head held so high, I thought she might hurt a muscle in her neck.

The final lady to step out of the carriage however, was different from the other two. She wore a simple dress of dark blue, no fancy ornaments or patterns on it. Her hair was left down, so much so it covered half of her face. She followed the other two ladies, but stopped before us and gave us a small incline of the head. I smiled. At least this young lady had some manners. A shrill voice started speaking and the young lady hurried off after it.

'So, this is your simple abode.' The uncomfortably shrill voice asked.

'Yes, it is, my home.' Sir Henry replied, looking around the place fondly, and walking into the house.

'And where is this daughter you speak so highly of?' The older woman inquired.

Miss Ella's face burned bright red at this. She smiled shyly and followed her father into the house.

'Here is Ella.' Sir Henry said, with a hint of pride in his voice. Ella sped up to stand alongside him.

The older woman's face dropped when she saw Ella, and her eyes widened. It was only for a second before she composed herself again and greeted Ella.

'Oh, of course you are my dear. I'm so sorry I did not recognise you. You were after all stood next to the riff raff. Of course you are Henry's daughter.'

My mind raced at this. She just had the audacity to call us riff raff. How dare she? But my mouth remained shut, there was no use getting angry at the new mistress for such a trivial reason.

'Do you mean my friends?' Miss Ella asked politely. The older woman seemed shocked and looked at Sir Henry.

'Oh my dear, I know you said you were a little isolated out here, but I never thought you meant that you were that far out of society to have your daughter consort with servants?!'

The more she spoke, the less I liked her. Ella was clearly mortified.

The blonde haired young woman glared at me and spoke,

'You there, help me with my cloak.'

I made my way over to her and began unfastening the fancy pin that held her cloak together. When it released, she shrugged it off and left it in a pool on the floor, she gave me no time to catch it. She walked away to join her mother without so much as a thank you.

I decided I also did not like her either.

The mother spoke again.

'This is my daughter, the Lady Anna Kingston.' She said, gesturing to the blonde lady. 'And that is Jaqueline.' She informed Sir Henry and Miss Ella with an incline of the head. Lady Jaqueline stood at the side of the room, her face still covered, not really looking at anything.

'Well, you have already met Ella,' Sir Henry began. 'Let me introduce you to the household. This is Mrs Po-'

'No need to introduce them now.' The older woman interrupted. 'There will be plenty of time for that later, now if someone could please show us to our rooms, we've had a long journey.'

Mrs Pole looked a little put out by this clear snub. She had put in a lot of effort to make sure everything was ready for their arrival, only to be ignored. Sir Henry looked a little annoyed as well, but was trying his best to hide it. He glanced at me and asked,

'Please show them the way Marion.'

I made my way past the older woman and began to climb the stairs, with the three of them trailing behind me. Ella caught their attention by saying.

'Excuse me, but what am I to call you?' Her eyes looking up the older woman with innocence, she still believed the best in people.

'You may call me Lady Kingston.' She said curtly.

'But, after the wedding tomorrow, surely you will then be Lady Cecil.' Ella replied. 'Could I not call you Agatha, or Lady Agatha?'

'Certainly not!' Lady Kingston exclaimed. 'I will not be referred to so informally.' She glared at Ella, but then softened her gaze slightly. 'You will call me Lady Kingston, for now.' She said, with a small smile on her lips that did not extend to the rest of her face. She swiftly turned back around and began once again to follow me up the stairs, leaving Ella looking a little hurt.

When we reached the hallway, Lady Kingston and Lady Anna had begun discussing the decoration of the house, how it needed to be repainted and new carpets put down and different more modern chandeliers.

I bit my tongue, I thought the house was very nicely decorated as it was, it felt comfortable and homely, not cold and uninviting like the new fashionable house I had heard Sir Henry talk about. And the chandeliers, although fairly small and simple, where still a nightmare to clean, so if they wanted to have new ones, they were very welcome to clean them themselves. I kept walking in silence until we reached the mistresses bedroom. I opened the door for them and they all walked right past me. A sort of shriek was emitted from Lady Kingston's mouth.

'It's so small!'

The room was not small.

There was plenty of space for a large bed, writing desk, armchair, fireplace, basin, wardrobe, shelves, bedside table, dressing table and stool, sofa, and there was still room left over for a small bed to be placed on the floor if a servant needed to sleep in the room, or a child. My own room was about a fifth of the size of this room, and it housed two people. I stared at them incredulously. I was liking this new family less and less.

Once they had stopped complaining over the lack of space and basic needs, Lady Anna demanded to be shown to her room. I lead her and Jaqueline down hallway, and around the corner to where the only remaining bedroom, the guest bedroom had been converted so it could accommodate two people. This room was definitely smaller than the mistress's room. Lady Anna jumped half a mile when she saw it. Jaqueline did not say anything.

'I did not know we would be sharing.' Lady Anna said, the rage evident in her voice. She turned on me and demanded to have her own room, and one that is more spacious. Her eyes almost looked aflame. I held my head up and said directly at her.

'I'm sorry, but we have no more rooms, and if you want to move, you will have to take it up with the master.' My eyes did not leave hers for some time. She eventually broke the stare, and marched back down the corridor to her mother's room. Jaqueline hadn't moved from her spot. She mumbled some words I could not hear and hurried off after her sister. I wasn't exactly sure what to think of Miss Jaqueline.

I did not dislike her like I disliked the rest of her family, but she had not been particularly warm to anyone either. She just stayed out of interacting with people. I decided it was not my place to pass judgment on the new family, they would be the ones paying me for my services, so I should try my best to not be too harsh on them.

I returned to the kitchen, the atmosphere was not very positive. Mrs Pole clearly did not like the new family much, and Ella did not look particularly happy either. My sister, Clara stood at the sink, trying to get the grime off a pot with a considerable amount of force. Mrs Taylor was cooking, but she wasn't humming to herself like she normally was. Daniel had not returned yet from offloading the carriage. Everyone looked downcast. Miss Ella looked to see me come through the door, her face lifting slightly.

'Did they like their rooms?' She asked optimistically.

'No, they did not.' I replied. 'I fear they found their new lodgings to confining.'

'But Lady Agth- Kingston has the largest room in the house!'

'I know, but they did not like it very much.'

'Oh dear. I know the guest room is a little small for two people, but I thought the mistress's room would be more than adequate.'.

We were interrupted by a loud shout from upstairs. This was unusual, we could not normally hear what happened in the rest of the house in the kitchen. It sounded like Lady Anna was showing her mother the room she was expected to inhabit. Miss Ella rose from where she was sitting and moved towards the door.

'I think I should go and assist Father.' She told us with a smile. 'There is a lot to do before the wedding. Maybe they are only acting like this because they are nervous, or this move is a large change, and they only need some time to adjust.' I wished I had her faith in people. Something told me they would not improve over time. But it was not my place to say anything.

I just had to hope I was wrong.


	8. Chapter 7- A Wedding and a Death

Chapter Seven.

The wedding went off without a hitch. The church was beautifully decorated, and most of the village turned out. However, they were told to sit at the back of the church to make space for the higher born guests of Lady Kingston.

Sir Henry looked almost regal in his silk jacket, but before the service took place, I saw him pacing around outside, clutching Lady Eleanor's necklace again. When I told him it was time to go in, he hastily but carefully placed the necklace in his jacket pocket, and walked inside. He sat at the front of the church, his hands fidgeting slightly, which was odd, I had never seen him fidget before.

Everyone stood when Miss Ella began to make her way down the aisle. She was wearing a beautiful pale pink dress that had belonged to her mother, which she now fit. Her golden curls almost seemed to glow in the sunlight, and her smile was radiant. Even her father stopped fidgeting when her saw her and smiled back.

Then came Lady Anna and Lady Jaqueline. Lady Anna went first, her hair once again fixed into an extremely complicated design, which was to intricate to be becoming. She was dripping with jewels again, and did not look at the congregation until she passed all the villagers and reached the noble guests, then she smiled. Lady Jaqueline followed her, her hair tied back for a change. She tried to smile at everyone, but it looked forced. They were followed a moment later by their mother. She held herself high as she began to walk, her long purple dress trailing behind her. She also only had eyes for the noble guests and ignored the rest of us.

The service was lovely, and it was followed by the wedding celebration, which was to take place at the manor, but only the nobility were invited. Even though the party was quite small, the workload was still massive. Most of the food was already made, but there was a lot of serving and fetching and cleaning up to do.

But everything ran smoothly and by the time the guests had gone and the family were ready to retire, I was about ready to collapse. My brother and sister were yawning as well when we were finally allowed to call it a night. Daniel himself had a particularly draining day. He was tasked with carrying the wedding presents out of the guests' carriages and into the house.

He'd had a similar job the day before, unpacking the carriage of all of the ladies' belongings, which turned out not only to include the many boxes fixed onto the carriage, but also of a small cart which arrived shortly after they did. I did not know it was possible for only three ladies to possess so much luggage, but I was mistaken.

After the wedding, things began to settle into a routine. Miss Ella would still visit the kitchens often to work on her baking skills, and to talk to us. Sir Henry kept himself to himself, reading or working in his study. The three ladies would occupy the drawing room for most of the day, chatting, stitching, sketching, playing the pianoforte.

Only Lady Jaqueline would read, and Lady Anna was fond of playing the pianoforte and singing at the same time. This would have been bearable if not for the fact she was completely tone deaf. Her screeching high notes would reach us in the kitchen and make us cower.

Miss Ella tried to be positive, still true to her resolve to always see the best in people. Lady Cecil, formerly Lady Kingston, had not softened in her behaviour at all. She shouted at me and the rest of the servants if we took too long to answer the bell, or if we had missed a speck of dirt, or if she felt like it, she could normally find some excuse.

Sunday afternoons were a treat though, Myself, Daniel and Clara would walk down the path and visit home. Over the three years I had worked at the manor, a lot had changed. Alexander had gone and joined out father working in the fields, so he was rarely home when we visited. Little Gwen and Robbie were no longer toddlers, but five and six years old and delighted in telling us how grown up they were.

Our mother however, had not been in good health for a long time now. I believed I was the only one who noticed her decline, maybe because I did not see her as often, but she now had permanent dark circles under her eyes, and she could not play with the children for even short stretches of time without requiring to sit down. I kept my thoughts to myself, I did not tell my siblings, there was no need to worry them. She was not ill, only exhausted, and I was sure if she had some time to herself, she could recover quickly.

She delighted in our visits, after having a house full of children for so long, she told us it felt empty not having four of us around all the time. We sat for hours and discussed the new family, and how vain and proud the new Lady Cecil and Lady Anna were. Clara did a fantastic impression of Lady Anna, imitating her tone perfectly.

She pulled her hair up and tied it so there were locks spilling out in all different directions, which was pretty close to how her hair looked most of the time. Daniel would make some sarcastic comment on the sheer volume of Lady Anna's singing, he always had been the joker in our family.

But alas, the Sunday afternoons would end with the setting of the sun, and we would have to return to the manor. The days turned into weeks, and we adjusted to our new family. Although serving the new family was not as easy as serving the family when Lady Eleanor was alive, we quickly got used to the new routine. We were content.

That was, until the fever arrived.

We had heard rumours about it circling the village, how it had hit the nearby town. The people who caught it almost never recovered, but at least it took you quickly, you would catch it and by the end of the day, you would leave this world.

It was one perfectly normal morning, we had gotten up and started doing our chores for the day without any knowledge of what was to come. Miss Ella had sneaked into the kitchen early and stolen some porridge right out of the pan, laughing as she did. As a punishment, Mrs Pole sent her outside to collect the eggs for breakfast. She practically skipped out the door giggling, she knew Mrs Pole would never actually punish her.

Sir Henry was due to arrive back from town this afternoon, he had gone yesterday morning on business. In his absence yesterday, Lady Anna had complained even louder than usual about her confined living conditions, she was still sharing the guest room with Lady Jaqueline. I did not hear the conversation that happened between Miss Ella and Lady Cecil, but the outcome of it was that Ella would give up her room, which was larger, so that the two sisters could have it to share. So that afternoon we were set to work trying to move the spare bed out of the guest room into Ella's room.

This was slightly problematic, as the bed was far too big for the door. When it had arrived, it was assembled in the room, and so had never needed to fit through the door. Myself and Daniel spend all afternoon trying to work out how to disassemble it so we could move it. It was dark by the time we got the pieces out of the door, it would have been much quicker if Lady Cecil hadn't kept interrupting us to make us do some other menial task, like fetch her a new pot of tea, and then make me serve her it.

Daniel was called away to polish some cutlery that 'absolutely had to be done today!'. So when it came to the time to retire for the night, Miss Ella, Lady Anna and Lady Jaqueline had two beds between the three of them.

To save one of her new step sisters from sleeping on the floor, Ella volunteered to stay the night in the servants wing. Clara shared a room with Daniel for the night, and Miss Ella stayed in my room. We stayed up a long time, discussing all manner of things, but mainly books. My literary knowledge had grown extensively over the last three years, thanks to Ella. Although I had enjoyed many of the books, my favourites remained 'The tales of Robin Hood' and my 'Folk Tales of Exodia'. We finally blew out the candle when Ella could not stop yawning.

When the afternoon arrived, Miss Ella waited anxiously by the window for her Father to come home. He finally rounded the corner a little later than expected, with a large smile on his face when he saw Ella waiting for him. She ran to him and embraced him, but he pulled away quickly and said he had some urgent business to attend to in his study.

He called in Lady Cecil, and they vanished from sight, behind the closed door of his study. She emerged a little while later, her face slightly paler than usual. The rest of the day passed, and Sir Henry's study door remained closed. Dinner time approached, and Miss Ella went to go and fetch her Father.

The servants and myself were in the Kitchen when a loud scream for help came from upstairs. Daniel and I raced upstairs as fast as we could and found Sir Henry's door flung wide open and Ella screaming.

Sir Henry was lying face down on the desk, coughing, with sick dripping off the table. The sick itself had blood in it. He was white as a sheet and sweating, his eyes a little glassy. Lady Cecil walked in behind us and instantly left the room, covering her mouth. With Miss Ella's help, we lifted him up and began to help him up the stair to the bedroom, tears streaming down Ella's face as we did.

Daniel called for Clara as we passed the entrance to the kitchens, and told her to run for Mr Smith. We eventually got him into bed, he was now shaking all over. I told Daniel to go and get Mrs Pole, and then start to clean up the mess that was in the study. I stayed with Ella as she grasped onto her Fathers hand, willing him to get better.

Mr Smith burst through the door shortly after, and began examining his patient. He asked Ella a few questions, and she replied, though sobs were racking her chest. He only took a few minutes. He then turned on me and asked where the lady of the house was. I showed him to the drawing room, but to my surprise, she was not there.

I heard talking coming from the next room. I opened the door and found all three of them sat at the dining room table, eating soup. Mrs Taylor was stood at the side of the room, not looking very happy that she was being forced to serve them. Lady Cecil rounded on me.

'You better have a good reason for disturbing our meal.'

I stared at her incredulously. She could not be that cold hearted.

Mr Smith saved me from having to answer the question. He walked towards her and whispered in her ear. She stood up immediately and told her girls to follow her. I half walked, half ran back up the master bedroom, with Mr Smith at my heels. Miss Ella was still there, placing a cold rag on her Father's head to try and sooth him.

She was singing a lullaby.

Mr Smith went over to her.

'I'm sorry Miss, but he has contracted the fever. He will not live.' Tear afresh started to cascade down her face, and I raced to her side to comfort her. I placed my arms around her as she wept, still holding onto his hand.

Lady Cecil appeared briefly at the door and looked through it, but kept her distance, I believe she was afraid of catching the disease. She left quickly and was replaced by Mrs Pole who had also been crying. Mr Smith waited at the edge of the room. We stayed there for a long time, Sir Henry kept murmuring words under his breath.

The most frequent of these words was Eleanor, closely followed by Ella. He never said the name Agatha once. As the dawn approached, and the sky began to lighten, his breathing became shallower and shallower. He turned his head and looked directly at Ella, and started to smile.

His eyes closed and his breathing stopped. The smile he had given Ella was still on his lips.

Mr Smith walked over and checked his wrist for a pulse. There wasn't one.

Ella was now an orphan.


	9. Chapter 8- Lady Evil

Chapter Eight.

I did not sleep much that night. It was practically morning anyway. I helped Ella up to my room, and laid her down on the bed, as she still did not have a place to sleep. She cried herself to sleep. I lay in the bed next to her, and closed my eyes. I fell asleep for about an hour before the sun was too bright to let me sleep.

I got up and changed quietly. I rooted around in my drawer and found the black ribbon I had worn for a month after Lady Eleanor had died. I braided my hair back, and secured it with the ribbon. It was the least I could do out of respect. I did not own a black dress.

I walked slowly downstairs to the kitchen. Mrs Taylor was already up, cooking breakfast. My siblings were not yet awake, and neither was Mrs Pole. She was hit especially hard by the master's passing. She had worked here for years, ever since Sir Henry and Lady Eleanor got married. She had watched Ella grow up, and was very fond of the family. Mrs Taylor and I decided to let her sleep.

Mrs Taylor was understandably upset, and a little annoyed. She had been forced to serve dinner the night before to the three ladies. Apparently, Lady Cecil had walked down the kitchen, and found only Mrs Taylor there. She had asked when dinner was to be served, and Mrs Taylor had told her that she had thought dinner was cancelled, until it was clear what was to be done about Sir Henry.

Lady Cecil became enraged at that, and told her that dinner was going to be served in five minutes. When Mrs Taylor had pointed out that there was no one to serve them the food, Lady Cecil demanded that Mrs Taylor serve them, or she would be fired.

My dislike of Lady Cecil was growing by the minute. However, I was too tired to think clearly.

We prepared breakfast, and I went up to the dining room when the bell rang. I walked into the room to find Lady Cecil, Lady Anna and Lady Jaqueline sat at the table, only Jaqueline displayed any sign of grief. Her eyes were red. I greeted them.

'Lady Jaqueline, Lady Anna, Lady Cecil' I said, placing down the bowls of porridge in front of them.

'It's Lady Kingston now.' She said sharply. She clearly had not lost any sleep. I bit my tongue. I was not sure if it was the lack of sleep or the grief, but I was really beginning to hate this woman. The name Cecil was the only thing tying her to her late husband, and she clearly found the first opportunity to lose it. Ella was now the only Cecil, her family were truly gone. She could not even say she had relatives by name. I gritted my teeth together, desperately trying to keep in the rage I was feeling at this evil woman.

They ate their food in silence. When they were done, Lady Kingston addressed me.

'I need you to gather all the servants in the drawing room in half an hour.' She informed me. I nodded, sceptical of what this was about.

When I returned to the kitchen, Daniel and Clara had woken up and were sat eating breakfast at the table. I told them of Lady 'Kingston's' demand, and went to go and rouse Mrs Pole. I found her laid on the bed, still in her working clothes. Her pillow was wet with tears. I gently shook her awake, and told her that we had to be in the drawing room in a few minutes.

We all stood in the drawing room moments later, a little apprehensive about what this was about. Clara stood next to me, chewing her nails. Lady Kingston entered the room, practically strutting, and stopped in front of us. She squared her shoulders and held her head up.

'I am afraid that the events of last night will change out living situation. Our finances will no longer stretch to accommodate you. We will have to live without the luxury of servants.' She said, and she made it sound like she was the worst one off in this situation. My heart stopped. We were all being let go. I would have to leave the place I had lived in for three years of my life. Some of my happiest memories were here, and we were being thrown out without a hint of regret.

'I expect you all to be out of my house by the end of the day.' She then swiftly turned on her heel and walked out, leaving us all to stare after her in shock.

I wanted to scream. I could not lose my job, we needed the money to much. And it was not just that, I had been here for three years, I had memories in this house, attachments to it. She could not just throw us out like yesterdays rubbish. It was too unfair. The small bud of hatred that had taken seed inside me was starting to grow, and I had to keep a tight grip on my rage, I could feel it building inside of me.

I returned to my room, and saw Miss Ella still asleep. I quietly started to pack my bag. It did not take very long, I did not own very much. I went to the table with the basin on it, to pick up my small bag containing ribbons and hair pins. My hip caught the side of the table, which caused the jug to wobble, making a loud sound. Ella woke up at that. Her eyes were wide with surprise for a minute, but then her face fell, remembering the events of the previous night.

'I'm sorry for waking you.' I said, my voice shaking slightly.

'It's alright.' She replied, then saw my open bag on my bed. 'What are you doing.'

'Lady Kingston just fired all of us. We have to leave by the end of the day.' Ella sat there shocked.

'It's just so unfair!' I exclaimed. 'I've worked here for so long, I do not want to leave!' I sat down on the bed, annoyed, upset and angry.

'No, surely she would not do that. Why would she do this?' Miss Ella asked.

'She said that with your Father gone, they do not have enough money to keep us on.'

'That cannot be true, we have never been in any financial trouble before.' This was meant kindly, but I only took it to make me more annoyed at 'Her Ladyship'

Ella stopped for a moment, and then looked questioningly at me.

'Did you say Lady Kingston? She is Lady Cecil.' She asked.

'No, she told me to call her Lady Kingston again.'

Ella's face fell even more. By changing her name, 'Lady Evil' (as I was now going to call her) had already distanced herself from her late husband, and by extension, Ella. I could not believe that this woman could be so cold hearted. I had never before hated anyone, but seeing Ella's face, and the hurt in her eyes pushed me over the edge.

I could not stand it any longer.

I told Ella I would be back in a minute, and marched out of the room. If I was already fired, she couldn't do anything else to me. I stormed into the dining room, to find Lady Kingston and Lady Anna sat sewing. They both looked up when I came in.

'How could you?!' I shouted at her. 'Miss Ella has just lost her Father, and now you get rid of all of us. You are taking her away from people who care about her. And we have worked at this house for a long time, longer than you have been here, you cannot just toss us out like objects. The master would never have done this to us, and you shame his memory by doing so. You do not even have the basic decency to keep the Cecil name, just so Miss Ella has some family left, how could you be so cruel?!'

I tried to stop shouting, but the words came out of my mouth unconsciously.

'And another thing, your husband died, are you so unfeeling you cannot even feel a little grief. Did you care for him at all, you stone cold monster? Did you?'

Lady Kingston did not say a word, her mouth became a tight line as she stared at me in rage.

'Answer me!'

I stared right back at her, willing her to break eye contact. My attention was grasped by a small noise by the door. I turned and saw Ella standing there, more tears streaming down her face as she looked at Lady Kingston.

'Did you love him?' She asked quietly.

Lady Kingston stood in front of me, she towered over me. Her eyes were as cold and unfeeling as stone. I refused to back down. Then she said in a quiet voice,

'Get out of my house. Now.'

I smiled at her and gave her an over exaggerated curtsey.

'I would be happy to, who would want to stay here with you?'

'You think so much of yourself. You think you are so high and mighty. You have done nothing to deserve it, and you would do good to remember that. Some accident of birth placed you there, but that does not give you the authority to hate the rest of us for not sharing your luck. One day, you will learn to regret your actions, and I hope that day comes soon. You bitch.'

'Oh and Anna, your hair looks awful, like it always does.'

I turned around and proudly walked out of the door, leaving the two ladies staring after me, Lady Anna's mouth agape.

I finished packing my bag and went to go and collect my siblings from their room. They were packed, but looked very downcast. They had only been here for two months, but I think they had become attached to the place. I told them to hurry, we had to leave now. I did not want to know what would happen if Lady Kingston saw me still in the house.

We carried our bags down to the kitchen and said our goodbyes to Mrs Pole and Mrs Taylor, who were sat at the kitchen table, trying to console each other over a cup of tea. I embraced both of them, I knew it was not goodbye forever, they both had family in the village and so would not be very far away. There was no need to say anything, we were all feeling the same emotions; grief, frustration, anger at the injustice of it. I felt slightly better now I had shouted at her ladyship.

We left the kitchen and walking to the gate, when we were stopped by Miss Ella.

'Marion, wait.' She called.

I turned around, and she ran and embraced me.

'You have to promise to visit me.'

'I do not think that is a good idea, your stepmother does not like me very much anymore.'

'Well, then I will come and see you. It will be lonely now, without Father and you.' She said, with tears in her eyes. I felt very sorry for her, and I wished I could be there for her.

'I'd like that very much.'

'I also think you should have this.' She said pulling a book out of her skirt pocket. I recognised the volume as 'The Tales of Robin Hood'

'Oh, Miss, I couldn't possibly, it's your book.'

'I insist, and there is no need to call me Miss anymore, You're not our maid anymore, we're friends.' She told me, placing the book in my hand. 'And anyway, you've read it more times than me, and certainly enjoy it more. And who here is going to miss it.' I hugged her again, accepting the book.

'Thank you very much Mi- Ella' She smiled, but I could tell she was not happy, she was still desperately hurt. 'I look forward to your visits.' She nodded, and I turned away to join my siblings and we walked away from the manor house.


	10. Chapter Nine- Scarborough Fair.

** Chapter Nine. **

Myself, Daniel and Clara arrived back home by midday. My younger siblings were delighted to see us. Gwen practically threw herself at me, her curls bouncing in the wind. I was not in the mood for smiling. I tried to act happy to see her but in my heart I was too drained to try. It was finally hitting me that Sir Henry, the kind, fair man who I worked for, for the last three years, was gone. I knew my grief could never match Ella's, I could not imagine losing a parent like that, but I was quite fond of the master, and it upset me that he had died.

We walked through the door, our heads hanging low. My mother turned around, surprised, and looked at us confused. We placed down our bags, and began to explain the events of last night and this morning. She didn't say a word, but when we were done, she stood up and wrapped her arms around us.

'Oh my dears, I'm so sorry.' She whispered at us. Her voice sounded a little hoarse, like she was fighting off a cold. I looked up at her curiously, and she coughed.

'I'm sorry, I'm just feeling a little under the weather.' She told me, and then smiled. 'Nothing I'm not used to. Now, you need to go and unpack, Marion and Clara, you can move back into Gwen's room, the mattress' are kept under the bed. And Daniel, you go back in the boy's room. Robbie, can go back in the boy's room again too.' She moved to the closet, and started pulling out sheets.

'Marion, I think you should go and tell your Father what's happened. He should be in the wheat field, with Alexander.' She coughed again. I moved toward her, but she batted me away. 'I'm fine, really. Go and find your father.' I nodded, and went to go and find Father and Alexander.

I walked down the lane towards the wheat field. The sun was shining brightly, making the golden fields almost aglow in the summer sun. Butterfly's danced in front of me as I walked, but my mind was too distracted to notice the beauty of the day. The lack of sleep and the dread of telling my father the story of the last few hours did not marry well in my mind.

As I rounded the corner and passed through the gate, I saw about twenty men harvesting the wheat with scythes. The mechanical motion of swishing the scythe back and forth was familiar to all of them, and to me.

I had spent a lot of time in my childhood sat by underneath the apple tree on the far side of the field with Alexander, Daniel, Clara and then Richard. We sat there playing games with cards and dice for hours. Our Father was supposed to watching us, but he was busy with working, and more often than not we would amuse ourselves. Mother would be occupied with the littlest ones, so I would be left in charge. Unfortunately, the downside of putting me in charge at such a young age was that I was adventurous, and liked exploring. This lead to Daniel breaking his arm after falling out of a tree aged seven.

After that incident, Father would pay much closer attention to us. We were forced to sit and watch the men working with the scythes, we were not allowed to run off, or climb anything. This is how were would sit there for hours coming up with stories to tell each other, many of them I later wrote down in the cover of my Exodia book.

I glanced up, and I instantly spotted my brother Alexander. His tawny curls stood out amongst all the other heads of short straight hair. He always liked to wear his hair long, Mother hated it. She thought boys should have short hair, it made it much easier to handle. He only ever had short hair once, when he discovered the pain of having your long hair brushed. Over time, he cut it just short enough to avoid having to brush it daily, but long enough to annoy mother a little.

I waved at Alexander. He didn't look up for a minute, he was concentrating on the task of not injuring himself with the large blade he had in his hand. When he stopped to wipe the sweat away from his brow, he looked up and saw me and waved back. He shouted something to the man next to him, the one with his back to me, something I could not hear. The man turned around and I saw the face of my Father. He smiled at me.

They both picked up their scythes and made their way toward me. I tried to smile back at them, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. When they were closer, I noted the change in both of them, my Sunday afternoon visits had happened at such a time of the day that I only occasionally saw my Father when the weather was too bad to work in, and the same thing happened to Alexander when he started working in the fields about a year ago.

Father had always been tall, broad shouldered, but not enough to be intimidating. Due to the fact he worked in the fields doing manual labour all day every day meant he always looked strong. But he had always had a kind look in his eye, caring and considerate. Alexander had changed to, he had become taller, he was now almost the same height as Father. People had always said that Alexander looked like my father, but with lighter coloured hair. I had not realised how right they were until now. At sixteen years old, he did look exactly like a younger version of Joshua Brown.

They stopped in front of me, placing the heavy scythes down on the ground. My Father opened his arms and embraced me.

'Marion! How nice to see you.' His voice had a magic effect on me, it made me feel safe and happy. It comforted me slightly, but not enough to make me smile. He pulled back to look at me. His brow creased in confusion when he was my expression. But before he could say anything, Alexander had picked me up, and began to spin me around.

'Arry!'

This had been his pet name for me, ever since he could talk. We discovered that 'Marion' is quite a difficult word for a toddler to say, so the resulting mess of sound that came out of his mouth when addressing me sounded like 'Arry' and the name stuck. He set me down, beaming. My Father was still looking confused.

'Marion, why are you here? It's not a Sunday.' Father asked me. 'Shouldn't you be at work?'

I looked down at the ground.

'I do not have work to go to anymore. I was dismissed this morning.' I informed them in a quiet voice.

'Why? What happened?' He said, his voice sounding worried.

'Sir Henry is dead, he caught the fever last night. Lady Cec- I mean Kingston told us all to leave at once.'

'That's horrid!' Alexander exclaimed. 'Poor Miss Ella. She's now an orphan. That must be hard.'

'It was horrible, Lady Kingston threw us all out, and she does not like Ella at all. I don't know why, but she doesn't.'

'Did she say why she was dismissing you?' Father asked.

'She told us that 'their new financial circumstances forced them to make certain economies'.' I told him, impersonating her Ladyship's shrill voice.

'So, does that mean your brother and sister are also back home?' He asked.

I nodded.

'Well, it will be nice to have you all home again, and we have enough saved up for you three to have a small break from working for a while, but is there any chance you could get your position back? Or a new one?' He asked hopefully.

I hung my head and shook it. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him raise his eyebrows questioningly.

'Marion, what did you do?' He asked. When I didn't respond, he asked again, 'Marion?'

'I may have shouted at Lady Kingston, calling her a bitch and a stone cold monster.' I told him quietly. He stared at me incredulously. There was a moment of silence.

Then he broke the quiet with a loud chuckle.

'That's my girl.' He said, tapping the end of my nose, like he did when I was a child. Alexander was laughing now. I allowed myself to breathe, he wasn't mad.

When they had quietened down, he looked at me. 'Although we could do with the money, she deserved that. I'm glad I have never met the woman, but if she's even partially like what you described, then she deserved all of that and worse. You've always been to fierce for your own good, but this time, I think it was warranted.'

He turned to Alexander. 'I think it's about time we ate our lunch, don't you?' Alexander nodded enthusiastically, and walked off to retrieve the satchel containing the food. Father sat down on the grass, and gestured for me to join him.

'Now, are you going to tell me exactly what happened then?' He asked me.

I began retelling the night's events, in as much detail as I could remember. I relieved the happy arrival of Sir Henry, the screaming of Ella when she found him, the carrying him to bed, and the long, long night I waited with Ella, slowly watching the life drain out of him. Alexander came and joined us on the grass, listening attentively. We stayed there for a good while, I lost track of how long we were actually sat there. Somehow, telling someone else about it did make me feel slightly better. I finished my tale, and we sat there talking, not about anything in particular.

Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Daniel, running down the lane. My father waved at him, smiling at the fourteen year old. His smile dropped when he noticed Daniel's haste and serious face. I began to wonder what was the matter. Alexander stood up, confused.

'Hurry, quickly.' Daniel was shouting. 'Hurry.'

We all stood at that and began to hastily make our way towards him.

'What is it?' Alexander shouted back at Daniel.

'It's Mother!' Daniel shouted. 'She collapsed! Help!'

My heart stopped. Panic filled my heart. I began to run after Daniel, Alexander slightly in front of me and Father behind me, mumbling the word 'No,' over and over again.

We sped down the lane, not caring about the shortness of breath, or the pain in my side. Alexander had caught up to Daniel by this point, and was asking him questions about what happened. From the snippets of the conversation I could hear, I pieced together the story.

Mother had been coughing ever since we returned from the manor, and had dismissed it as another small and trifling illness. Daniel had not been concerned until her coughing was so bad, her muscles forced her to bend over. Then, instead of coughing, she was sick all over the floor. They had gone to see if she was ok, when they saw blood in the sick. She then swooned and fainted into Daniel's arms. He had shouted for Richard to run to get Mr Smith, and told Clara to look after her, while he ran to collect us.

I knew instantly what had happened.

She had caught the fever.

She was not going to survive.

When we arrived at the house, Mr Smith was already there examining her, Clara holding her hand. Gwen, Robbie and Tom were huddled in the corner of the room. Gwen was crying and Robbie looked on the verge of tears. We stopped to breathe, but Father hurried to Mother's side, and took Clara's place.

When I had caught my breath, I walked over to the little ones, and sat down with them, taking Gwen and Robbie onto my lap, and tried to distract them. Alexander began pacing the room and Daniel had to sit down, he had run twice the distance we had. It seemed like forever, but could only have been a few minutes, when Mr Smith walked away from Mother's bed and tapped Father on the shoulder, and beckoned him to follow. He reluctantly gave Alexander Mother's hand, and followed.

I tried to stay calm, but my heart was full. This could not be happening, I could not lose my Mother! It was unfair! I could not lose two people in two days! I did not need to wait for Mr Smith to tell us, I knew. Sir Henry had done the exact same thing. I watched as my Mother's chest rose and fell quickly.

There was a muffled cry that came from behind the door, my Father had been told the worst, he was about to lose his wife. The others who were old enough to guess what that sound meant face's fell. Clara started to sob, which upset Gwen, who began to cry again. I started singing to calm her down.

_'_ _Are you going to Scarborough fair?_

_Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme._

_Remember me to the one who lives there,_

_She was once a true love of mine.'_

Alexander, Daniel, Clara and Richard began to join in slowly, one by one. Our Mother had sung it to us since we were in the cradle.

_'_ _Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,_

_Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme._

_Without a seam or needlework,_

_Then she'll be a true love of mine.'_

The door opened, and the shell of Father walked in. His head was hung so low, I was surprised he was still standing. He paused next to where Clara was standing and placed his arm around her. I could tell it was not just to comfort her, he was using her as a support.

'Joshua…' My mother's voice sounded from across the room. We all looked at her.

'All of you,' she said. 'Come here.'

Father made his way to her side quickly, sitting on the far side of the bed and lifting her into his arms. I placed Robbie and Gwen down, took their hands in mine, and began to walk slowly towards the sick bed. Tears were now falling freely down my face. I wasn't sure when they began, but I made no effort to stop them.

I sat next to Richard, who was by her shoulder, and I once again picked up Gwen and Robbie, and place them on the bed in front of me. Gwen lay her little head down on mother's lap, she was still crying. Alexander lifted Tom up onto the bed, and Clara stood next to him. Daniel stood at the foot of the bed. I reached forward and took hold of Mother's hand. Her breathing was shallow, and her pulse weak. Her eyes looked around at all of us, and she opened her mouth.

'I know that this will be hard,' She said. 'But I have to leave you all now.' Father, bent down and kissed her forehead.

'But,' She continued, 'I want to you all to know how much I love you, and how sorry I will be to go.' She coughed again, a little blood dripping out of the corner of her mouth. Father loving wiped it away.

'I am relying on you,' she said looking at me, Alexander and Daniel,' To look after each other. And your Father.' I nodded slowly, and Alexander and Daniel followed.

'Be happy, I'm going to a better place, and I will always be watching over you.' Her breaths were getting shallower now. 'And promise me one more thing. Have an adventure, like in your stories. Go and fight the dragons, rescue the damsels, defeat the sorcerers. Go and live your lives well, and make me proud.' Her eyes began to close, but she looked up at Father. 'Joshua, I love you.' She closed her eyes, but kept breathing. They were few and far between now, but she opened her mouth one last time.

'I love you all, never forget, I love you.'

Her breathing stopped.

I was now motherless. We were all now motherless.

Father bent his head, and kissed her head, tears falling without restraint.

She was gone.

There was a large hole in my heart that could never be filled again. Sadness consumed my entire being. Robbie turned his head to me, and held out his arms. I held him, his tears staining my dress, as mine stained his shirt.

She was gone.


	11. Chapter 10- An Announcement.

**Chapter ten.**

A year later.

The twigs beneath my feet snapped as I walked over them. The forest path was beautiful and bright this morning, the leaves a vibrant green, letting in just enough light to illuminate the lane an emerald colour. The flowers in my hand were freshly plucked from the field, and their scent wandered up to my nose, the smell of sweetness and freshness.

I had walked down this road at least once a week for the past year, to her grave.

The pain of her passing had softened slightly to a memory, but it never truly left. Small things would remind me of her; her handkerchief found at the bottom of the laundry pile, still with her initials sown into it, her bottle of perfume she only ever wore on particularly special occasions still sat on my Father's bedside table, when I would cook hazelnut soup, her favourite.

The little ones would cry out for her at night, when they had bad dreams. I would go to them and sing them back to sleep, but I knew it was not a comforting to them, as she would be.

I grieved in my own way. As the now eldest woman in the house, many of her responsibilities fell to me. Father tried to help, but we desperately needed the money that his labour brought it, now with us out of work. So he and Alexander went back to working in the fields three weeks after her passing. It also meant that we no longer had to endure his awful attempt at cooking, my Father is good at harvesting food, not preparing it.

I became the resident cook, cleaner, mender, shopper, fetcher and carrier for our house. I mainly did the jobs I did at the manor house, but for no pay. I missed my mother, but barely had any time to grieve, I was so busy doing everything else.

And so, once a week, on my way to market, I would walk the long way round, via the field on the edge of the forest to collect some flowers, and then down the woodland path to the graveyard. There, amongst the headstones and the mausoleums, I would find Mother's little wooden cross, with the words 'Hannah Brown, Beloved Wife and Mother' etched into the wood.

I set down my flowers, and picked up the ones I had left the previous week, which were now dying themselves. My hand found its way to the top of the cross, which I held onto.

I then began my little speech. It had become a sort of tradition of mine to recant all of the previous week's events to my mother, as if she were listening aptly.

Every week I would tell her about how tall Daniel was becoming, or how long Gwen's hair was now getting. I would tell her how Tom lost his last baby tooth, or how Clara began her courses. I told her about Richard's newest game idea that he came up with after hours of hard thinking, and about Robbie's ability to read longer words. I would talk to her as though she were not gone, but simply absent for a while from our lives, and she was going to return soon so she should know everything that went on.

After I finished my tales, I leant forward and kissed the top of the cross. I knelt backwards, and pulled myself up off the ground and walked away, back down the woodland path, with my basket in hand. I walked slowly down the path, taking in the fresh air and the sense of life radiating from the forest.

There was always insects buzzing, birds flying, squirrels climbing and the leaves were brimming with life. I found it uplifting after visiting the grave yard every week. I wandered along the path for a while, until I heard footsteps coming ever closer to me. I stopped and let the source of the sound catch up with me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of gold, as Ella walked along side me.

As we walked, we chatted the way old friends do. My mind wandered to the events of the past year.

After myself and the other staff were dismissed, Lady Kingston and her daughters had discovered that living without servants was not entirely to their taste. It turned out that Lady Kingston is a terrible cook, and Lady Anna could not possibly dirty her fine dresses with flour and eggs and all that. Lady Jaqueline could occasionally muster up the energy to help with boiling water, chopping vegetables and any other task that did not require much skill.

This lack of talent in the Kingston family meant that Ella, being the kind soul that she was, had volunteered to do most of the cooking. Her ladyship had told her that keeping busy would help ease the pain of her Father's passing, and so kept finding more tasks to burden her with.

One of those tasks was to get rid of the bed that had been dismantled on the day before Sir Henry died. Ella's stepmother had deemed it far too old and unfashionable to be seen in her house. This had the unfortunate effect of making Ella's temporary move to the servant's quarters, permanent.

The more days past, the more she was treated like a servant, until one day, about six months ago, she had refused to do any chores. However, the consequences she had endured for her 'misbehaviour' meant that she had never disobeyed her stepmother again. She had become her stepfamilies slave, she got no pay, no time off and no chance of freedom Her Father's will made it so that Lady Kingston was her legal guardian until she married. Her one respite was when she was sent to market to purchase supplies.

We met frequently on this path, both missing parents, who would have been here if not for the fever, and both of us wishing for the life we had before that dreadful day.

We walked in friendly conversation towards the market place in the centre of the village. It was always busy this time of day, so we made an effort to stay close to each other. As we walked past the stall showing fine fabrics and lace, I would always try and do my best Lady Anna impression.

'Oh, but of course I must have that on my dress, Cinders, come here now and stitch it on!'

I spoke in a high and strained voice

'But Lady, there is no space left on your dress to stitch it onto' Ella replied. Even her angel like manner had its limits when it came to her step family. 'Your hideous dress, is maybe the most expensive one in existence, and there are no more possible ways of adding any more fabric or jewels!'

I found it amusing that even in their 'time of financial troubles', Lady Anna still had enough pin money to buy endless amounts of jewels, lace and dresses. Even though I wished to go back and work at the manor like before, but I knew I could never work under them ever again. I knew I would end up breaking one of Lady Anna's many tiara's, or accidentally dropping her horrid attempt at needlework in the fire, for crimes against basic art, or replacing Lady Kingston's bottle of perfume she wore so often with a substance that turn even the strongest stomach. I had occasionally asked Ella if she would try any of these amazing ideas on her stepfamily, but she was too kind-hearted for her own good.

We continued shopping, slowly filling our baskets with food. We talked as we shopped, and shopped as we talked. We only ever got to see each other once a week, so we made the most of it. We were so engrossed in our conversation, that we did notice that a crowd was gathering in front of the steps.

It was only when our way to the next stall was blocked, did we look up and saw a man wearing a herald's uniform, clearing his throat and unravelling a scroll. He nodded to the man standing next to him, who hit a large stick on the ground several times, and quiet descended over the crowd. Ella and I looked to each other, wondering what was going on. The herald cleared his throat, and then in a loud voice shouted over the crowd.

'HEAR YE! HEAR YE!' He began, I never knew why they always started their speeches in this way, but I listened any way.

'AS REQUESTED BY OUR LORD, THE DUKE, IN HONOR OF HIS SON AND HEIR'S COMING OF AGE, THERE WILL BE HELD A BALL. 10 DAYS HENCE AT THE DUKE'S PALACE WHERE EVERY, NOBLE OR COMMON, ELIGIBLE PERSON IS INVITED TO ATTEND.' A collective gasp went around the crowd.

'AN ELIGIBLE PERSON MUST BE OVER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE, AND MUST WEAR SUITABLY FASHIONABLE ATTIRE.'

A groan went over the crowd. In order to afford a dress like that, you would have to be highborn. This was a way for the Duke to appease the people, but still keep the party selective. I raised my eyebrows at Ella, no doubt that Lady Evil and Lady Idiot would be attending.

'THE BALL WILL BEGIN AT EIGHT, SHARP.' He continued. 'DETAILS CAN BE FOUND HERE. THE DUKE HOPES TO SEE YOU THERE.'

He closed his scroll and nodded at the man next to him again, who took a piece of parchment out of his bag and began to nail it to the nearest post. The crowd swarmed around the piece of parchment, even though I knew not many of them could read. Ella and I, began to walk in the other direction, trying not to get trampled on. I saw the herald climb onto a waiting horse and ride off to the next village. He looked tired, even though it was still morning, I guessed the invitation was going out to all the villages in the Duke's county, which was a fair few.

'What do you think it would be like?' Ella asked me, staring off into the distance.

'I imagine magical.' I replied. 'I think that when you walk into the ball room, you are frozen as your true love stands in front of you, begging you to dance.' I explained dramatically, sighing as I elbowed her lightly, smiling. As much as I liked Ella, she was far too easy to tease. It took her a minute to work out that I was joking. She laughed back at me.

'Be serious.' She said. 'Mother and Father attended many balls, but I was always too young to go. Father met Mother at a ball years ago.' She sighed, thinking about her parents.

I thought for a moment and then said.

'I think it would be wonderful, the dresses, the music, the very atmosphere of love. It would be incredible.'

I tried to stop thinking about something that could never happen, but my imagination had already taken over my rational thought. I was picturing the room, aglow in thousands of candles, the orchestra playing beautifully, the swirling gowns and delicious food. There would be a handsome young man who asked me to dance, and who would sweep me off my feet for a night. I wouldn't have to think or worry about my siblings or father for a few hours.

Beside me, Ella sighed again, we had reached the edge of the village now, and were about to enter the wood. 'I wish I could go.'

'Well, why not?' I asked her. 'You have more right than those three to go, you are a lifetime resident of these parts, and should be lady of the manor. Also, I thought you still have that trunk of your mother's old dresses hidden.' She nodded thoughtfully, but then shook her head. 'No, they would see me there, and order me back home.'

'The proclamation said every eligible maid, she has no right to bar you from attending.' She thought about this, and did not reply.

'I wish I could attend, but I will never be able to afford a dress.' I said sadly.

She remained silent for a while, and when she did not try and speak again, I stopped and placed down my basket.

'My lady,' I said, offering my hand to her, 'Would you care to join me in this dance?' I said in a mock male voice. She laughed, and took it, placing her own basket down next to mine.

'Why of course, my handsome sir.' I started to hum a simple tune, as we attempted to dance hand in hand. However, as I had never actually been taught how to dance, this attempt at grace and poise failed miserably, and I had no clue what I was doing. Ella ended up, trying to tell me the next step as we went along, which only ended in hilarity and embarrassment.

The tune came to an end, and we burst out laughing. It was maybe a good thing I was not planning to attend as I could not dance.

We picked up our baskets and parted ways. Ella went to go and tell her stepfamily the news of the Ball and I walked back home, where there was dinner that needed to be made.


	12. Chapter 11- A Gift.

** Chapter Eleven. **

The only topic of conversation that night was the upcoming ball. All my siblings seemed to be obsessed with it. Clara thought it very unfair that she was too young to go, she thought that fourteen years old should be counted as an adult. The little ones started to play at going to the ball when it was time to sit down for dinner. Gwen and Robbie began to jump around the room, while Richard sang a song under his breath.

When I eventually got them to sit down, they started asking me if I was going to go. Alexander spluttered at this, spraying soup everywhere. That at least distracted them for a moment. I knew there was no chance of me going, and Alexander clearly agreed with me.

But that night, as I lay in bed awake, my mind kept drifting to the ball. I never been to one, or in fact any large event similar to it. The closest thing I had attended was the village may day celebrations every year, which had a little dancing.

The travelling fair would arrive in the village around that time every year, and would lead it. There would be a caller at the front of the group who would explain the dance step by step, and then when the music began, would continue to shout instructions at us. It was great fun, and something nearly always went wrong.

The children would run around, trying to get to the food before it was served, desperate to get to the cakes. The girls would wear flowers in their hair, given to them by their boes. This meant that every year I attended, I would not wear any flowers. I had never had a boe, I was always too busy working, or looking after my siblings to notice any boys.

I had always secretly imagined what it would be like when I did meet the one. All the books I had read had always mentioned the rush of affection that would surge my body, the moment I laid eyes on him. I would know instantly when I met him. There would be no doubt he was the only one for me.

I knew these were just dreams and reality would be nothing like this, but I could hope. I also knew enough of life to know that even if we did find each other, it would not be a smooth and easy ride afterwards. There would be ups and downs, struggles and triumphs.

I kept thinking back to Maid Marian from the Robin Hood book. She knew she was in love with Robin, and they could not be together without giving up her chance at helping to improve everyone else's lives. So she fought for it. She was confident, outspoken and even a little bit flirtatious, and knew exactly how to get what she wanted, and she was clever about it. Her ups and downs were a little more extreme than everyone else's but that didn't make them less valid.

Maid Marian had attended a few balls throughout the course of the story, but as it was set several hundred years ago, the balls they went to were of a slightly different nature. She had danced and flirted with men there, usually to keep them off the scent that Robin was in the castle. I had decided when I first read the book several years ago, if I ever got the opportunity to behave as she did, I would take it.

I fell asleep, but even my dreams were taken over by thoughts of the ball. I was standing in the middle of the room, wrapped in a beautiful silk dress, bright red in colour. I had mountains of petticoats under my skirt which made it keep its shape. I swirled and twirled around the room, dancing from one partner to another. The music swelled around me, and I instinctively knew the steps.

I did not think.

I only moved.

My partners were faceless, but they danced wonderfully. It is the way of dreams that there is no way of telling how long had passed. I was lost in the sensations, my dress swishing around my legs, my chest rising and falling, the feel of my partner's hand in mine.

Waking the next morning was a sorry disappointment after the lovely dream. I had to put it out of my mind, and get down to work. There were nine people to make breakfast for. So I reluctantly rolled out of bed and set to work.

A week later, most of the fever for the ball in the village had died down, as no one from the village was planning on attending. So as usual, I visited mother's grave and slowly walked back towards the village, waiting for Ella. When she didn't show, I continued down the path. There had been several times in the past when she hadn't been able to make it to meet me, due to a certain two ladies.

I was shocked to discover when I walked to the marketplace, I found Ella already there, on top of a cart. There was a flock of young girls standing around her. She looked up and saw me, and beamed. I made my way towards her, very confused.

'Marion! Can you help me.' She shouted at me. I nodded and climbed onto the cart. Ella was trying to drag a large wooden trunk. I bent down and tried to lift the other side of the trunk. After a lot of struggling, we got it down from the back of the cart.

'What on earth is in here?' I asked her.

'These.' She said, unlatching the top. The top of the trunk was pushed back to reveal a lot of fine dresses. Ella started pulling them out and held them up to a girl nearby.

'Here, this one will suit you.' She said smiling at the girl. The girl thanked her.

'Where did you get these?' I asked her in shock, there must have been at least twenty dresses in there. She continued pulling them out and handing them around.

'Help me, would you.' She said. I began handing out the dresses, each a different colour of the rainbow. There was silk, chiffon, organza and velvet dresses.

'When Lady Anna heard about the ball, she instantly started going through her wardrobe, deciding what to wear. This then led to her throwing out her old dresses that are too unfashionable and she would not be caught dead in them. She told me to throw all of these out, but I thought there was no reason to give them to all of you instead of throwing them away.' She explained.

'But why?' I asked.

'You said the only thing stopping you from going was that you couldn't afford a dress, now you have one.' Ella said, reaching down pulling out a dress right at the bottom of the trunk

It was a beautiful emerald green colour, the colour of summer leaves. It was a simple design, pulled in at the waist and the sleeves went to the elbows. A silver ribbon lined the square neck line and ran down the split in the silk overskirt, revealing a white chiffon under layer. A silver sash went around the waist and it was knotted into an elegant bow at the back of the dress. The cuffs were small, but made of an intricate lace.

I had never seen a more beautiful dress in my life.

Ella handed the dress to me, the light reflecting off the silk, making it almost shimmer. I took it in my hand carefully. Upon closer inspection, I noticed many tiny pin pricks in the silk, and I realised I had seen this dress before. Lady Anna had worn it when the family had attended the spring celebration a few months ago.

Well, maybe attended was the wrong word to use. They had been overseeing it. They did not participate in anything. I did not recognise the dress at first as when Lady Anna wore it, it was covered in frills and lace. I had honestly thought that it was a hideous monstrosity. Now that Ella had taken all the extra fabric off it, the dress was gorgeous.

I was lost for words. Ella smiled at me again.

'Thank you.' I managed to stumble out. 'This is so amazing!'

'No need to thank me.' She said. 'You would be doing me a favour taking these off my hands.'.

I placed the dress down and pulled Ella into an embrace.

'Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!' I exclaimed.

When we parted, I looked at her questionably.

'So, if you are giving us these dresses, do that mean you are also planning to go as well?'

'Yes, I think I am.' She replied. 'I opened my mother's trunk, and found a dress that I could adjust to fit me. I remember her wearing it. And as long as I do all the chores that day, I do not see any reason why Lady Kingston should stop me from going.' We continued to hand out dresses to the other girls.

'Good for you!' I said. 'You deserve to go. Much more than Lady Idiot up there.'

'She is currently obsessing over the Duke's son. She has never met him before in her life, but seems intent on marrying him.'

'Oh, what I would give to see someone snatch him away from under her nose!' I laughed. 'Did you ever meet him, when your parents went to parties? He must be around our age'

'No, I was always too young to go. Mother spoke of a boy at the Duke's parties, she said he was very polite and charming, even for a child.' Ella replied.

'Maybe he has turned into a charming young man!' I teased her.

Ella began to blush, and she averted her eyes to stare at the floor. I was confused about this, and narrowed my eyes to look at her.

'What's this about?' I asked her, raising my voice a little.

'I just met a charming young man.' She said quietly. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

'Ella! Who was he?'

'I do not know,' she admitted. 'My cart got stuck in a ditch on the way here, and I couldn't move it. Then this young man turned up and offered to help. He was really lovely, and charming…..'

'And handsome.' I finished. Ella blushed even redder than before.

'So he was handsome?' I inquired. When she didn't reply, I guessed that meant yes.

'Are you going to see him again? Where does he live? What's his name?' I couldn't help myself, the questions began pouring out of me.

'Stop it!' She said, still not looking at me. 'He asked me if I was going to the ball. I told him I wasn't going, but he asked me to go, and he would like very much to see me there.'

'Oooh, so is that why you're going.' I said. She finally looked up at me, pleading with me to stop.

'I'm sorry. I'm glad you're going.' I told her.

At last, all the dresses had been handed out, and we closed the trunk and started to lift it back up onto the cart. Ella climbed onto the front of the cart and took up the reigns.

'I guess I will see you at the Ball then.' She said.

'I look forward to it.' I told her smiling. Then she lifted the reigns and the horse took off. She waved when she went around the corner.

My heart soared.

I was going to the Ball!

* * *

 

The next three days were insanely busy. After I and every other girl in the village received a dress from Ella, we all decided to go to the ball. This then meant that there were preparations that had to be made, and more importantly for me, dresses to adjust. Ella was very kind with giving us the dresses, but didn't necessarily take into account that the village girls were thinner than Lady Anna. We haven't always had three meals a day all our lives.

My reputation of a half decent seamstress had gotten around the village, and so, many girls came to the cottage to ask me to fit the dresses to their shape. I spent three days constantly sewing. I used the time to start to teach Clara how to take in clothes and sew invisible stitches. She was a surprisingly quick learner, and between us, we adjusted a grand total of 24 dresses.

Those three days, the cottage was full of silk, velvet, chiffon, lace and organza gowns. We had to move Gwen out of our room to make space for the table. We relocated to mine and Clara's room to keep the gowns out of the reach of the boys and their dirt that followed them everywhere.

Father had joked about making the girls pay for my services. I dismissed the idea, my needlework was not that good, and there is no way any of those families could afford to pay me anything. I knew how happy the girls were just to be given the chance to go to the ball, and I did not want to take that away from, over the sake of a few measly pennies.

With the extra help, I even found time to do a little embroidery on my own dress, I added a border of Lilies to the bottom of the chiffon part of the dress. I always had loved those flowers, and I had picked some the day before to put in my hair, so it seemed appropriate.

The day of the ball arrived, and the excitement in the air was palatable. Myself and Clara had finished sewing the night before, so I took a well needed break from it all, that morning.

I walked into the woods, unaware of what was about to happen.


	13. Chapter 12- A Dance Lesson

** Chapter Twelve. **

After hearing Ella laugh at my attempt at dancing 10 days previous, I thought I better practice a little before I make a complete fool of myself at the ball. I knew a few dances from listening to Sir Henry teach Ella years ago, and I remembered a few of the basics. I knew the name of a couple; Polonaise, Minuet, Allemande, Gavotte, Sarabande and a waltz.

I knew the simple waltz step, and how to hold my arms. The polonaise had a distinct rhythm, which involved a kick of the leg. I began to hum a simple tune with the polonaise rhythm. I tried to kick my leg in time with the beat, but struggled to keep up. I also tried to keep my head up and shoulders straight, but with my brain trying to concentrate on so many things at once, I did not look graceful or elegant. I believe the correct expression for the way I looked was bumbling buffoon.

I continued to try, humming and dancing until I kicked to far forward, and my foot caught the end of my skirt, sending me flying forwards, and I landed on my front. The air was knocked out of me and pain flooded my chest. I rolled over and tried to get air back into my lungs.

It was then I heard a twig snap behind a nearby tree. I turned my head towards the sound, still attempting to breathe. A figure in dark clothes darted behind the tree. I wondered who on earth it could be. Fear started to creep into my mind, what if it was someone who was dangerous?!

Once I could breathe properly again, I sat up and shouted at the figure.

'Who are you? What do you want?' I called. I was terrified as I saw the person walk around the tree. There, standing before me was a young man, more of a boy, with bright ginger hair, and he was laughing. His eyes sparkled with mirth. He had pulled down his hood, and was covering his mouth with his hand.

'What's so funny?' I asked, knowing exactly why he was laughing.

'That display.' He replied. 'It was quiet a thing to behold.'

I simply sat there glowering at him. This only made him laugh harder. He continued to chuckle, and eventually I broke and started laughing along with him. He offered his hand towards me, and I accepted it, pulling me up. I stood face to face with him, and noticed the freckles dusting his nose.

'May I ask, what were you supposed to be doing?' He asked.

I took a deep breath, trying to supress my embarrassment.

'I was practicing my dancing.' I told him, lifting my head defiantly.

'Oh, right. Are you going to the ball tonight?' He inquired.

'Yes I am.' I replied.

'And that is your dancing?' He said.

I was a little offended by his tone. I knew my dancing was terrible, but I did not take well to a complete stranger judging me.

'Yes, it is.' I told him confidently. I was not going to be humiliated by this boy. 'Why, do you think you could do better?'

'Well…..' He said, suddenly a little shy. 'I do know a few dances.'

'Oh, right.' I said, A tiny bit remorseful of my tone. 'Are you going to the ball tonight as well?'

'No, I'm working tonight. So I will be at the ball, but not attending.' The boy said.

'Do you work at the Duke's castle?' I asked him.

'Not normally, but my Master is attending the ball, and staying there a few days, so I have been utilised by the Duke's housekeeper tonight.' He told me.

'So, you are not from around here then?'

'No, I work for Lord Weston. We only arrived yesterday.'

He smiled at me.

'I'm sorry, but I cannot in good conscience let you go the ball with dancing like that. Please let me teach you a little.'

I knew my dancing was truly terrible, and I really did not want to embarrass myself any more than was necessary. So I nodded. He took my hand in his and he lifted up my arms placed them on his shoulders.

'I didn't ask earlier, but what is your name?' I asked him. His smile grew.

'Jack, my name is Jack.' He said. 'What's yours?'

'Marion, Marion Brown.' We started swaying slowly. After a moment, Jack started humming a tune in three time that I recognised.

_Are you going to Scarborough fair?_

_Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and thyme._

My face fell, and tears started to pool in my eyes when I worked out what the tune was. I stepped back away from Jack. My hands dropped to my sides. Jack looked at me, confused.

'I'm sorry, could we dance to another song, please.' I asked him. My face was turned away from him. I hoped he would not see the tears.

He nodded, not asking anything else, and began to sing another tune. He tentatively reached for my hand again, not taking it, but asking gently if I wanted to continue. I reached out my hand forward and grasped his. He placed it back on his shoulder.

'So, waltzing…' He said. 'One, two three. One, two, three' As he said these words his feet moved in a repetitive pattern. After a few moments, I began to copy him, just on the spot.

'Very good, now, head up, you are supposed to be dancing with a partner, not the floor.' My head snapped back up to meet his eyes.

'That's better.' He said, a small smile gracing his lips. I tried not to blush, but I could already feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. He started talking to me about how the travel around the room while doing this basic step. I do not think he noticed my colouring cheeks, and I was very thankful he didn't. We danced around the clearing in a waltz for a long time. I did not fall over once!

Once Jack had thought I had truly mastered the basic step, we moved onto the Polonaise, my arch nemesis.

Jack showed me how to hold myself upright, and told me it was slightly easier to kick my leg forward if I lifted my skirt ever so slightly with one hand. My other hand was in Jack's as we faced the same direction and he led me round the clearing.

'Kick, two three, kick two three.' I was just about starting to get the hang of it, when Jack pulled my hand around and tried to spin me. The force of the pull knocked my balance off and I managed to fall into Jack's side. My chin hit the bone of his shoulder.

When I managed to stand up again, without falling over, I saw he was rubbing his shoulder.

'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to.' I stuttered out. But my apology was cut short by the fact that Jack was laughing. 'I knew you were not a good dancer, but I never thought you were a dangerous one.'

His eyes were sparkling, I had not noticed until now the unusual colour of them. They were a mix of dark blue and green When he stopped laughing, he held out his hand again.

'Come on, you're not going to get any better at dancing, unless you practice.' I took it and we began to dance again.

I am not sure exactly how much time we were there for. We must have danced for hours. I learnt how to dance a minuet, gavotte, Sarabande, and I eventually got the hang of the Polonaise, finally.

We were interrupted by a voice calling my name.

'Marion, Marion? Arry?' I recognised my brother Daniel's voice. My head turned towards the sound of the shouting. I dropped my hand out of Jack's, we were half way through learning how to dance a polka. Jack looked up the sky, trying to work out the time.

'I'm here.' I shouted back at Daniel.

'I should be heading back. I'm working tonight, and no doubt there will be a long list of jobs for me to complete.' Jack told me. 'And I think you now can show your face at the Ball without complete humiliation.'

I laughed at this, and gave him a small curtsey. 'Thank you for the dance lesson.'

'Thank you for letting me teach you.' He replied. 'And maybe I will see you tonight?'

'I thought you said you were working?'

'I am, but there may be a spare minute or so. Very nice to meet you, Marion Brown.' He inclined his head slightly, like a small polite bow, and then darted off, back into the forest from where he came.

I smiled after him. I rather liked Jack, he was kind and sweet and funny, and clearly an amazing dancer. His untidy ginger hair was fading from view, diving in and out of the trees.

Daniel caught up to where I was standing, and found me staring down through the trees.

'Where have you been? We've all been looking for you. Jane is expecting you now!'

I remembered I was supposed to be a Jane's house now, she had agreed to do my hair, again.

'Sorry, I just lost track of time.' I told him.

'Well, come on then!' He said and started off down the path. I followed, consciously trying to keep my head up and my back straight, ready for tonight.

We arrived at Jane's house, and knocked on the door, it was around six o'clock. A very tired Jane opened the door, still with her blood red ribbon tied in her hair, and gestured for me to come inside.

Quietly. When we got inside, I glanced over and saw a beautiful baby boy, sound asleep in the crib. I had met baby Matthew before, and he looked just as adorable as ever. He was about six months old, and the apple of Jane and Michael's eyes.

Jane sat me down, and placed the bunch of lilies I had brought on the table, while she set to work brushing my hair out. We talked quietly, about this and that, mainly about what the ball was going to be like. Jane was not going, she said she was too tired and had a little boy to look after.

She styled my hair into a half up, half down design, gathering the top of my hair into a bun made out of braids. She deftly pinned the lilies into the sides of the bun and braided the rest of my hair tightly, so when it was let out it would fall in waves down my back.

When she was done, I thanked her and walked out as silently as I could, trying not to wake the baby. I smiled at Jane who was bending over the cradle, and waved. She waved back at me as I closed the door.

By seven o'clock, I was standing in the village square in my ball gown, with all the other girls of the village. 25 young girls, all in hand me down dresses of all different colours and materials, waiting to go to our first ball. There were a few young boys from the village there too, who had managed to procure some fancy clothes, who were coming to join us.

We were waiting for Violet's father to come down the road with the cart. Violet had arranged three carts to take us to the ball. When they arrived, she was the one, shepherding us into the different carts, trying to distribute the weight, so the horses could carry us with reasonable speed. I was placed on the middle cart in between Annabel and Teresa.

We were sat on hale bales covered in cloths, and even the floor of the cart had been swept, so not to ruin our dresses. I was wearing my mother's old shoes, the only pair of heels in our house. They were small and practical, black with a strap across them so they didn't fall off. There was nothing special about them, and nothing as fancy as what the highborn's would be wearing, but it felt comforting to know that there was something of my mother's coming to the ball with me.

As the carriage set off, I could see a few of my siblings in the distance, waving me off, Daniel, Clara, Richard, and Gwen. I waved back to them, trying to contain my excitement and failing. A massive smile was plastered all over my face.

As the carriage moved along the bumpy road, I thought about Ella. She said she was coming to the ball, and I really hoped she was able to convince her horrid family to let her come, she deserved a night of happiness after all she had been through. I could imagine she would know exactly how to dance everything perfectly, and would do it with perfect grace and dignity. I knew my limits of my knowledge, and which dances I could join in with without making a complete fool of myself.

So, as the cart rattled on into the night, the girls and I chatted excitedly about the coming night, as we came ever closer and closer to the palace.


	14. Chapter 13- The Ball.

**Chapter Thirteen.**

The room shone with the light of a thousand stars. Majestic chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, spilling light onto the ground. The floors, table tops and every other available surface had been polished to perfection, which only served to intensify the glow of the hundreds of candles that illuminated the ballroom.

I had never before been inside a palace, let alone a ballroom. I had always imagined that if I was ever lucky enough to see the inside of a palace, I would be delivering the groceries or making up the fire places, not elegantly strutting around the ball room like some high born lady. I lifted my head high, and straightened my back, just like Jack had taught me to.

A small voice in the back of my head reminded me that I had always wanted to be a part of a fairy tale like this, and act all highborn, while a handsome man, preferably a prince, danced among us. I had never actually set eyes on the Duke's son before. I hoped he wasn't very similar to his Father, I had seen him. The Duke was a very stern man, who appeared to have a permanent frown on his face, or at least he had the few times I had seen him, riding through the village, surveying his lands.

I had absolutely no intentions of meeting the lordling, or seducing him, like every other girl here. Romance was something that would have to wait, and I knew that the chances of him even glancing at me were very slim anyway. I decided when I accepted the invitation, I was not going to delude myself into a fantasy. I was going to enjoy myself on a night I was sure I was never going to forget, in a gorgeous gown and my new fake airs and graces. This was my chance to be like Marian, bold, brave and just a little flirtatious.

The room was full to the brim of young girls, just like me, and most of them in much more fashionable dresses. I was not jealous of them though, if fashionable made them look like that, far too many frills for my taste. There were some dresses that looked like they were going to drag the wearer down with the sheer weight of the jewels sown into it.

I glanced down at my own dress, it was very plain by comparison, but the emerald silk shone brightly in the candlelight, and I infinitely preferred it to some of the more gaudy dresses. Very few ladies were wearing green, and I had always preferred to wear earthly colours, this shade reminded me of the forest, when the sun is shining through the leaves at sundown, making them appear darker than they are.

I returned my eyes to some ladies nearby. There was one lady who was wearing a dress of a bright shade of pink, just dripping with jewels. The parts that were not covered in jewels were hidden in yards and yards of lace and frills that were sown on quiet poorly onto the dress. It was almost as if the person who had made the gown had no interest in it, and was told by the buyer to just cover it with as much fabric as they could, never minding the pattern or the stitching.

However, the wearer did look familiar, her light blonde hair pulled tightly into an elaborate knot that was also dripping with jewels. The knot was so tight, that I was sure that if someone felt the top of her head, they would only feel her skull, and her pale hair did nothing to hide that illusion. She inclined her head slightly, gazing at the door with intent eyes, almost as if she could see through it to where the duke's son would most likely be getting ready right now.

I caught a glimpse of her profile and to my horror discovered the lady in question was Lady Idiot, or more accurately Lady Anna.

'Well, at least that explains the dress' I thought to myself.

I swiftly turned away and began to walk in the other direction, eager to get as much distance in between Lady Anna and myself. I began to search the room to see if Ella had been allowed to join her family, or if she had sneaked out. My mind kept reminding myself of how well she had danced in the manor, when she was happy and carefree. She has had so many troubles since the day her mother died, and it would be a shame for her to miss out on such a wonderful night.

My attention was seized by a manservant hitting the floor with a staff. The Duke stood at the front of the room, just before the orchestra, his bright red satin coat standing out in a sea of pastel colours. His stern face was just as harsh as I remember, his greying hair combed back neatly. Everyone was facing him, a few maidens craning their necks to see past him to the door

His loud booming voice echoed across the ballroom.

'My Lords, Ladies,' He said,' And other guests.' He added in a quieter tone. 'Thank you for attending this special event, in honour of my son's return home, and coming of age. I hope you enjoy the night's revels.' As he said this, the large oak doors that we all entered through were shut with a loud boom.

'So, without further ado, I present my son, Lord Christopher, and the Ball shall commence.'

The doors behind him opened and a handsome young man stepped out. He was tall, and stood out in his crisp clean white suit, with gold decorations covering the front of his doublet. His face was not at all stern like his fathers, but had a polite smile gracing it. It was obvious it wasn't a genuine smile, but at least it looked like he was trying.

His eyes flitted around over the crowd of people, as if he were searching for someone. Lord Christopher began to make his way to the dance floor, looking at the maidens before him, some who were desperately pushing their way to the front of the crowd. He seemed hesitant to choose a maiden to dance the first dance with. The minutes passed and he still seemed unable to choose.

Just then, all of our attention was taken by a loud knock on the main doors that reverberated around the ball room. Everyone's heads were turned as the footman by the door went to open it and pulled it open. There standing on the other side of the door, was Ella.

She was wearing a beautiful golden dress, that complimented the colour of her hair perfectly. It was loose down her back in flowing curls, and a sparkling gold tiara balanced on top of them. Her dress was almost glowing, through I just presumed that was to do with the candles.

She gracefully descended the steps and I noticed her heels making a sound against the ballroom floor, I could just about see them when she lifted her skirt to walk, they were also a shimmering gold. All the time I had been at the manor, I had never seen Lady Eleanor wearing a dress like this, and Ella had said she would be wearing her mother's old dress, so I began to wonder where she had gotten the dress from.

Her face was radiant, all traces of exhaustion and hardship wiped from her brow. Her smile was truly dazzling, and her eyes lit up when they met Lord Christopher's eyes.

Her smiled widened more, if that were even possible. She began to make her way towards him, and he began to make his way towards her, his smile no longer polite and distant, but one of genuine joy.

The crowd parted and let them go to each other.

They met in the middle of the ballroom, right underneath the main shining chandelier, spilling light onto the pair of them. They started talking in quiet voices, so no one else could hear them. There was a familiarity about them, like they had met before.

I was confused by this, surely Ella would have told me if she had met the Duke's son before. Then it hit me, the man in the woods, the one who helped Ella with the cart when it broke, that must have been him.

Lord Christopher held out his hand to Ella, and she took it, beaming at him. The Orchestra started up, with a waltz. Ella and Lord Christopher took up their positions and started to sway in time. I was fixed to the spot, entranced like everyone else in the room.

They moved together beautifully, swirling and spinning gracefully. They seemed completely lost in each other, never taking their eyes away from the others face. They were so lost in the dance and the music, that they didn't notice that they almost danced into some of the crowd around the edges of the dance floor.

They moved back quickly but Ella's dress still gently hit them, but it didn't slow them down. I knew Ella was completely wrapped up in her partner then, if she had been thinking straight, she would have stopped and apologised immediately.

They continued waltzing, and as the music reached its peak, Lord Christopher placed his hands gently around her waist and lifted her into the air, spinning her as he did. Her eyes were wide in amazement, and she looked as though she was floating through the air.

When he placed her back down, she spun around, and he quickly lifted her hand to his lips, and gave her a swift kiss. Her face flushed, and when the music came to its final chords, she sank into a low curtsey as Lord Christopher gave her an equally low bow

The crowd applauded the dancers, and the spell that seemed to be cast over them was broken momentarily.

The conductor turned around and announced the next dance was going to be polka. I had learned a little of this dance, but I didn't feel confident enough to try dancing it. And besides, no one had asked me to dance. I saw Lord Christopher ask Ella for another dance, and I knew that would make Lady Idiot, sorry, Anna, furious, as she had already picked out the lordling as her future husband. I wondered why she hadn't already jumped out and tried to drag Ella back home for stealing 'her man'. I looked around looking for Lady Anna, so as best to avoid her, or to keep her as far away from Ella as physically possible.

I found my way to the banquet table. It was overflowing with baked bite sized goods, fruits, jellies, sandwiches and meats. I knew this would be enough to feed my entire village for a month. I began piling my plate high with food, it all looked so tempting.

The food was delicious, and I had to stop myself from eating too much. I watched Ella and Lord Christopher from a distance, content that Ella finally had finally found some happiness. There was an empty chair on the far side of the ballroom, and I hastily made my way towards it before someone else took it. I sat down and began eating.

When my plate was empty, the polka finished, and I looked up expecting to see Ella, but I found they had disappeared. There were people milling around all over the room, trying to find partners for the next dance, which had just been announced as a polonaise, my former arch nemesis.

I smiled a little, as it brought Jack to the front of my mind. He had finally got me to master the step kick step that was required for this dance.

'Now, what would a lovely lady such as yourself be doing sitting all alone?' A voice asked me.

My head snapped around and I found myself face to face with a dark haired young man, who was smiling down at me. It was the kind of smile that showed he was a little arrogant, and used to getting his own way. I squared my shoulders and politely answered him.

'I was enjoying the food, it's rather good.' I told him.

'Well, you appear to have finished.' He said, his eyes glancing at my empty plate, 'So would you care to join me for a dance?' He offered his hand before me. I had never been asked to dance before in my life, excluding Jack, but I thought that was a little different.

'Yes, I would, thank you.' I said, grasping his hand. He pulled me up out of the chair, and we made our way towards the centre of the room. I tried to relax and put on a brave face, but inside my brain was whirling like mad. 'Don't screw this up' I kept telling myself. 'Head up, shoulder's straight, smile on.'

The music began to play, the same polonaise rhythm graced my ears as the one I had practiced to all morning. The man in front of me bowed and I curtsied, and I took his hand, facing him. We began to dance, and I surprised myself by being able to keep up with everyone else doing the basic step.

It was only when the music began to build and the dancers started to make different patterns on the floor, did I start to panic again, this I hadn't learnt this morning, but the man next to me whispered in my ear 'Just follow my lead, where ever I step, you step beside me.'

I tried to look down at where he was stepping without making my head drop, which I discovered was surprisingly difficult, but I didn't fall over or bump into anyone, so I counted it as a success.

'Now, my lovely lady, you must tell me your name. I can't spend all night calling you my lady.' Said the man, once I had begun to get the hang of the new steps.

'Marion,' I told him, 'Now I think you owe it to me to tell me your name.'

'James, milady Marion. And how exactly did you end up here tonight?'

'I was invited' I said, now that he had called me a lady several times, I did not want to ruin it by telling him I was a low born girl who simply got here by chance, and Ella's goodwill. 'Why are you here?'

'I am here to support an old school friend of mine, he's had a terrible time of it lately, and I thought I would come along and cheer him up. After all, every party needs someone to liven it up a bit.'

'So, you are here to ensure he has a good time?' I asked.

'Trust me, he's already doing fine. At the moment he doesn't need my help.' James replied.

We continued dancing for a while, not really speaking. The Polonaise came to an end, and I smiled in triumph, I had not thoroughly embarrassed myself. I gave James a low curtsey, and turned away, but someone caught my wrist. I was spun back around to face James again.

'Where are you running off to?' He asked me, still smiling arrogantly.

'The Dance has ended, and I find myself in need of a drink.' I told him.

'Well then at least let me get that drink for you.' He told me, and before I could respond, he had vanished into the crowd. I followed the direction which he went, and kept getting pushed one way or another by people also trying to get past me. When I eventually made it to the table where there were drinks, James was not there.

There was a tap on my shoulder, and I turned around to see James standing there, still with the smug smile on his face, holding two glasses of wine in his hands. He extended one of his hands to me, and I took it graciously. I sipped it slowly, revelling in the taste, I had never had proper wine before, and it was sweet and filling.

'So, this friend,' I asked him 'You said you went to school together, does that mean your other school mates are here as well?'

'Yes, as a matter of fact they are' He replied.

'And are they all as smug as you?' I inquired.

He laughed loudly at this.

'You know, not many people would have the courage to call me smug.'

'Well, I am not most people, and what are you going to do about it?'

'I do not know, this situation has never arisen for me before, so I must simply bear through the pain.'

'Oh, how hard for you.'

'It is my lady; you have delivered me a mortal wound to my pride'

'A mortal wound? I?'

'Yes, and it can only be cured with another dance, so if you would do me the honour?' We were both laughing now, and I couldn't quite believe I was that bold in front of a man I had only just met, I blamed the wine.

We walked back towards the dance floor. A minuet started playing and I felt confident I knew how to dance this one properly. So, I felt that I could talk to James while dancing.

'Is this working to cure your pride?' I asked him.

'I think it is, but we must keep dancing to make completely sure.'

'Alright, if it means saving your pride.'

'Well, you were the one who wounded it in the first place. I believe you owe it to me.'

'Could I not find another way of repaying the debt.' I teased. I did not really want to stop dancing with him, but I couldn't resist.

'No, there I no other way on this world.' He said, spinning me around. I giggled a little.

'So, Marion, I know very little about you, apart from that you think me smug.' James asked me. 'Tell me a little about yourself.'

'What would you like to know?' I asked.

'Where do you live?'

'Well, I'm not telling you that!'

'Why not?'

'Because I'm not telling a stranger where I live!'

'Fair, fair. Alright, tell me something else…Tell me a secret.' He said with a smile.

'I don't trust you with where I live, why would I trust you with a secret?'

'Because, if I don't know where you live, there is very little chance of ever seeing you after tonight, then there is no reason not to trust me with a secret.'

'I think your logic is flawed'

'It would help my pride heal quicker.' We were momentarily separated by the dance, and I moved onto a new partner.

This man was taller than James, but used his height to make it appear like he was looking down me. His piercing blue eyes did not look at all kind. His coat was very fine, and looked very, very expensive. He did not speak to me for the short time we danced together, I guessed he wasn't very sociable.

I was rather glad when the dance returned us back to our original partners. When I stood next to James again, I couldn't help but smile.

'So, have you decided which secret to tell me?' James asked me. I decided to tease him a little more, as he was clearly delighting in teasing me.

'No, a lady never tells. Ever.' I told him.

'We shall see about that, after all the night is still young.' James said, with a challenging glint in his eye 'We shall see, my Lady.'


	15. Chapter 14- A Dramatic Exit.

**Chapter Fourteen.**

The rest of the evening past in a bit of a blur. James spent most of the night determined to get something out of me, and I spent most of it avoiding the question. He was charming, clearly very intelligent, witty and very, very smug about it.

I did not only dance with him, I was asked to dance by two other young men, one by the name of Philip, who was politeand a little distant, and the other by the name of Frederick, who seemed nice enough, but the dance wasn't really long enough for me to make any more sketches of his personality.

The hours past, and there was more dancing, laughing, and plenty of food for me.

I found myself dancing with James again, a gavotte and we were amicably talking when the dance was interrupted by Ella running though the centre of the ball room, as fast as she could.

I stopped and stared after her. I hadn't seen her since her dramatic entrance several hours ago. Her golden dress was swaying as she ran, her curls bouncing.

The crowd parted before her and as I was looking with wonder after her, Lord Christopher raced past me, also running, but Ella was still meters ahead of him, not glancing back once. She ran up the steps and out of the door, Lord Christopher following her, seconds behind.

The music had stopped and everyone in the ball had turned and was through the door, trying to see what all the commotion was about.

We all waited in silence for about a minute, all with the same question on our lips, what on earth just happened. Then, Lord Christopher appeared in the doorway, holding something golden in his hand, but I was too far away to see what exactly it was.

'James, Adam, Philip, Antony. With me, Now!' Lord Christopher shouted, and James patted me on the shoulder and whispered, 'I'll be right back.' In my ear.

He ran up the steps to where Lord Christopher was talking quickly and quietly to the man I had danced with briefly, the one with the piercing blue eyes. James joined them, followed by two others.

It hit me like a lightning bolt, that James school friend he talked of must have been Lord Christopher, which would then make James, Lord James.

A highborn.

Of the nobility.

All the colour went from my face. I had spent the night flirting with a member of the nobility. And I also called him smug. I had insulted the nobility. He could make my life hellish if he wanted to.

I did not know what to do, should I go before he got back? But then that would seem rude. My only other option was to stay where I was and wait for him, and face the consequences of what I have said to him. I was torn.

The clearly higher born ladies at the ball started to moved next to each other and talk excitedly amongst themselves. I spied Lady Anna from across the room, who had turned to the girl next to her, and began speaking rapidly with her.

Eventually, everyone ended up talking about what had just occurred. I stood there, frozen to the spot, unsure whether or not to leave or stay.

Behind all of us, the clock on the wall struck midnight. I startled me a little, but I think it startled Lady Anna, more so.

I saw her physically jump back, when the bell started tolling. Her face drained of all colour, she was almost as pale as her hair.

She looked like a skeleton.

I saw her immediately turn around and storm out of the ball, out the door Ella had just run out of.

I thought that was a little curious. I had thought that with Ella leaving the ball, Lady Anna would like to stay around, in hopes of catching Lord Christopher. But, alas, she ran off. Maybe she ran off after him?

We all waited for another ten minutes, nobody else dared leave in case they missed something. Then, we all heard powerful footsteps striding down the hall. Then, the tall man with the piercing cold blue eyes, came through the door.

He looked around the room, and then stepped to the side of the door. Moments later, Lord Christopher and the others, including James, I mean Lord James, came through the door as well. Lord Christopher looked visibly distressed, but stood at the front of the crowd and spoke loudly.

'The Ball is over. I am sorry to cut the night's revels short, but urgent matters have arisen. I thank you all for coming, and wish you all a safe journey home.'

I knew this was my chance to escape Lord James, in the crowd of people leaving the ball at the same time. I decided it was probably best if I didn't see him, then maybe he would forget about me and my impertinence.

I tried my hardest to blend in with all the other maidens, and we moved closer and closer to the door. We were almost through it when I felt a strong hand grasp around my wrist and pulled me backward.

I ended up face to face with Lord James.

He smiled at me, the same smug smile he had on all evening, but now, it was slightly kinder and softer. I tried to stay looking at him, but my head wouldn't obey, and I ended up staring at the floor.

'Marion? Are you alright?' He asked, concern lacing his voice. 'Marion, were you planning on leaving without saying goodbye?'

At this, I made one last effort to joke with him, distract him from realising I was lowborn, and I was too bold.

'Goodbye. There, I said it.' I turned back around and tried to get back in the crowd.

'Marion, what is the matter?'

I tried to walk away, but he held a tight hold of my wrist.

'Marion, please?'

I couldn't escape from him, so I resolved to simply tell him, and hope that he would not take it out on me. I sighed heavily then turned to face him.

'I was not aware you were a lord.' I informed him. His face twisted in confusion.

'I didn't keep it a secret. Why should that matter?' when I didn't reply he said, 'And if you want to be pedantic, I'm a sir, not a lord.'

He chuckled a little.

'Because I'm a lowborn.' I admitted. 'I used to be a scullery maid.'

'And, your point is….' He asked. At this, I looked up. I was expecting him to be instantly repelled by me and run away, but he didn't.

'So, you're not mad that a lowborn girl has been insolent to you all night?' I asked hesitantly.

'No, of course not, this ball has been considerably more fun than I thought it was going be. I thought I was in for a boring night of looking after Christopher, He wanted us here so he wouldn't be completely alone tonight with people he didn't know. But, you have certainly made my night very enjoyable, you and that girl who we just tried to chase.'

'Wait, you chased her?' I asked, suddenly intrigued.

'Yes, she ran out of the ball, and Christopher was determined to find her, she didn't even give him her name.'

I was stunned by this. I had no idea what Ella was doing tonight, I made note to ask her what happened to her tonight next time I saw her. I looked behind me and saw that most of the crowd had already gone through the doors, which meant that the carts that were heading back to the village would be leaving soon.

'I need to go, or I will miss the carts.' I told him. He laughed.

'Ah, so you really are low born then, if you came in a cart.' I was worried for a moment, but then he laughed again. 'There is no need to worry, I'm not offended. Go, your cart awaits. But, I would like to see you again, very much.' He said.

'And I you, I replied. He gave me one last bow,

'My lady, he said kissing the back of my hand. His green eyes stared up at me as he kissed me, and there was something in them I could not quite place.

'Good sir,' I responded. 'Goodbye.'

'Farewell' he said, but I already had turned away and was walking out of the door, back towards the carts.

It had been a truly magical night at the ball.

The journey back was full of excited chatter, the girls could not stop talking about the events of the night. No one else had recognised the girl, or 'The golden princess' as they called her. I thought this was a little odd, but I suppose no one else in the carts had lived in the manor house, and so who only have seen her passing through in the market, or from a distance when her parents were still alive.

'Who could she be?'

'She must be very rich to have an entire dress made of gold.'

'The Duke's son was quite taken with her.'

'Quite taken? More like head over heels in love with her. He didn't look at a single other girl all night.'

'You're just jealous.'

'Who would not be!'

I sat in silence listening to them, deciding whether or not to tell them I knew who the golden princess was. My mind wandered to the moment Ella ran out of the ball, she never looked back at Lord Christopher, not even once.

I did not think Ella would ever do anything to offend him, she was to sweet and kind for that. And although I didn't know anything of the Duke's son, I guessed he also would never hurt Ella, if that waltz was anything to go by. He clearly was completely enamoured of her. Lord James also said that she had never told Lord Christopher her name, so she wanted to stay anonymous.

That would leave the only reason or Ella to run away like that was in fear, either fear of being found out to be a servant like I was; even though she was technically a highborn, or fear of her stepfamily finding out about her being at the ball. I guessed it was more than likely the latter.

So, if Ella ran out because of fear of her stepfamily, it was probably best to keep her identity secret. I kept my mouth shut, and amused myself with thoughts of the ball, and many of them were focused on a certain dark haired young man, with a permanent smug expression on his face. As we drove down the bumpy road on top of our hay bales, we paid no heed to our discomfort, and we occupied our minds with happier thoughts and of a wonderful night.


	16. Chapter 15- The Search Begins.

Chapter Fifteen.

The next morning, I was rudely awoken by a small shape bouncing up and down on top of my legs. My eyes opened slowly, and saw the light brown curls of Gwen.

'Gwen! Stop that.' I cried. She came to a halt and I tried to pull her off my legs which she was uncomfortable leaning on.

'Marion, what happened! The Ball, what happened at the ball!' Her high pitched voice reaching my ears, painfully loud.

'I'll tell you later, come on, up you get.' I said to her, lifting her down, off my bed, and rolling out of it myself.

As I stood up, I glanced at the dress that was hanging over the back of the wooded chair in the room. My emerald ball gown reminded me of the previous night, and it brought a smile to my face. But unfortunately, it was now back to the normal daily grind that was my life.

I dressed and started in the kitchen, making my usual pot of porridge for all of us. Sunlight was just beginning to pour into the small window, illuminating everything in a layer of gold.

I started to hum a melody of one of the dances of last night, a minuet I believe. As I stirred the porridge on the stove, I began to sway in time with the dance. I supposed the golden light reminded me of the candlelight of the ball, and the shade of Ella's dress. As the melody grew, I moved away from the stove and began to dance around the room.

To anyone else looking in on me, I would have looked completely mad, parading around the room with a wooden spoon in hand, humming loudly. At one point, I actually turned to my spoon and thanked it for the dance.

I was snapped out of my daze by the smell of burning oats, and I frantically ran over to the stove to remove the burning pan.

Thankfully, only a small part was burnt, and the rest was still edible. I quickly dished up breakfast into the nine bowls on the table, and called everyone in.

As usual, Gwen and Robbie were the first sitting down, most likely they had been awake for a good while already. Then, Father, Alexander, Tom and Daniel came and took their place. Richard and Clara had always liked to sleep in late as possible. Alexander left the table to go and drag them out of bed. Gwen started up with trying to get me to tell them about the ball.

Once Clara joined the table, still in her nightclothes, there was no escaping telling the story, but I truly did not mind. I did after all, love stories. And so I told them all every single thing that happened at the Ball, well, almost everything.

I kept Ella's identity secret. I figured that if Ella wants to stay anonymous, there was very little chance it would remain that way if any of my siblings knew, they all did like to talk so very much. So I told them about 'The Golden Princess,' as if I knew as much as very other person at that ball.

Clara and Gwen, was surprised to discover, did not ask the most questions of me, like I was expecting.

It was Father, and most of the questions revolved around Lord James. I tried to answer as many questions as I was able, and purposely avoided any questions about whether I was ever going to see him again, and what exactly were his intentions when he asked me to dance, and many other questions similar to this.

I managed to avoid him slightly when the meal was finished, and I moved the bowls into the sink, and I began to add water and soap to it and started to scrub the bowls and spoons. My embarrassment was ended when Alexander opened the door and announced that he and Father had to leave, or they were going to be late for work.

My Father gave me a quick peck on the cheek and wished me a good day, and that he would get some answers to his questions. They both walked out of the door, and I began to make preparations for my trip to the market.

I should have been going in two days, but due to mine and Clara's isolation fitting everyone's dresses for the ball, my brothers had taken it upon themselves to try cooking, rather than face starvation. And as a consequence of this, much of the food that I was planning to make into meals got either thrown and ended up on the floor, or got burnt to a crisp. So, I had to make an impromptu trip to the market to restock our supplies.

By the time I got to the market place, after visiting my mother's grave, the place was already buzzing with people. The only topic of conversation was the events of last were whispers of 'The Golden Princess' on everyone's lips.

I found it rather amusing that no one else knew who she was. I went about my business as quickly as I could, I had many chores to do when I got back.

Unfortunately, my short trip turned into a longer one, when unexpectedly, the same herald who stood in that very market square ten days before rode into it on the same horse as he did before.

Everyone's attention was seized and heads all turned in the same direction. He only briefly got of his horse, to nail a piece of parchment to the post, where the invitation to the ball still hung. Without saying a word, he climbed back onto his steed and sped off down the road, his green coat flapping behind him.

The swarm of people around the post grew very quickly as everyone craned their necks to see what the parchment beheld. It was only after a minute or two, did anyone them realise, that none of them could read, and a call went out, around the group of people to ask if anyone was literate.

I knew I should be getting back home, but I could not resist the call to read something, no matter how much I needed to get soup cooking. I replied that I could read, and I found myself being pushed to the front of the crowd, people parting to let me past, eager to know what the message was.

I stared at the paper, and began to read it out load, and it took me completely by surprise.

_'A Proclamation from Lord Christopher, to be distributed over his Father's Lands._

_I seek to find the maiden who so entranced me at the Ball, held in my honour, on the 16th of this month. The maiden in question left no name, and wore a golden dress with matching golden slippers. One of these slippers in now in my possession, and I will be making a tour of my Father's lands to find the maiden whose foot fits this particular slipper. When I have found her, if she is willing, the offer of my hand with be made. Any assistance in helping myself find this maiden shall be well rewarded._

_Signed Lord Christopher Howards_ '

The first and only thing I could think of was Ella, someone had to tell Ella. She was this Golden maiden that Lord Christopher was speaking of, and she needed to be told.

I turned around and made my way through the crowd of people as fast as I could, and practically ran back home, well, ran as fast as I could, carrying a basket full of food. It was more like a fast walk.

When I got home, I shouted for Daniel, who was outside, entertaining my siblings until I got back, and told him I would be back soon, but I had to go and do something very important. I placed the basket on the table, and walked back out of the door instantly.

I had walked the path up to the manor many times before, but never with such speed. I knew Ella lived in the servant's quarters now, so would answer the back door if I knocked there. This was her chance to escape her step family, only if she was willing to marry him of course.

I was not going to tell her she had to marry him. That would be her choice. As I walked up the path, the familiar front of the manor became visible, but now it looked slightly less neat, there were a few weed growing in the grass in front of the house and some windows looked a little dirty.

But, to be honest, I was more shocked about how good a state it was in, considering there was only Ella to attend to everything.

I just about managed to stay on top of our very small cottage, with its four rooms and moderate garden. And as someone who used to work there, I knew how hard it was to keep everything in that house clean. I turned the corner, and was surprised to see no washing on the line.

At the rate Lady Anna wore dresses, there should have been many, many garments on there. I pushed it to the back of my mind. My fist lifted and I knocked on the back door.

There was no response.

The moments passed and after about a minute or so, I tried again. There was still no response. I was about to turn away and try the front door, when I heard some scuffling coming from inside.

'At last' I thought. The door opened, and it was not Ella who stood there, but Lady Jaqueline.

Her dress was stained with flour and what looked like egg, and her hair was a little untidy. I tried to disguise my shock, but my mouth fell agape before I could stop it.

'Jaqueline?' I gasped.

'Hello Marion.' She said quietly.

'Where's Ella?' I asked.

There was a moments silence, and it looked like she was trying to form an answer.

'She's busy.' Jaqueline replied after a while. I wasn't stupid enough to believe her. Something was wrong.

'Is she? Really?' I asked.

'Yes she is.' Jaqueline told me. 'Is there something you wanted? I have things to do.'

'There was a proclamation, just now. In the village.' I told her, being sure to not give away that I knew who the proclamation was about.

'The Duke's son want's to find the golden princess from last night. It says that she lost one of her slippers, and he is going to be searching for her, with the hopes of marrying her when he finds her.'

'Oh, I better tell Anna,' Jaqueline replied and tried to turn around, but I stopped her, asking,

'Where is Ella?'

'I told you she's busy. I need to go.' She said, closing the door behind her quickly, leaving me stunned.

Something was going on here. But I couldn't do anything without breaking into the house and demanding to see Ella. And the ever growing list of chores was starting to take over my thoughts.

There was no rush, I could call around later when Ella was less 'occupied'. The more I thought about it, I knew as soon as Lady Idiot up there found out about this proclamation, the entire house would be reverberating with the news, echoing with her loud shrill voice.

Ella would no doubt hear of the news. But still, I made a note in my head to call around tomorrow, and check to see if Ella was alright. I did not think Jaqueline was telling the truth, but I did not want to incur the wrath of Lady Evil. So, I turned around and began to walk back home, down the path.

The next day, I walked down the path to the manor house again. And once again I was greeted by Lady Jaqueline at the back door.

This disturbed me even more the second time. This meant something was definitely off with Ella. Jaqueline looked even more tired than the day before, and her dress was even more dirty. So this time, I barged past Jaqueline into the kitchen.

'Where is Ella, what has happened to her?' I demanded.

'Please, keep your voice down!' Jaqueline whispered urgently.

'Why, what happens if I don't?' I said, purposefully a little louder.

'SHUSH!' She begged. 'I'll tell you! Just be quiet!'

I turned around the chair at the kitchen table and sat down, facing Jaqueline. She glanced nervously at the stairs leading up to the main house, and started to talk.

'Ella was not allowed to come to the ball. Mother wouldn't let her. But, she did not tell her. She let her believe that she would be allowed to go if she finished all her tasks. And so she did. But when Ella came downstairs in her lovely white gown, Mother forbade her from coming, saying that she did not deserve to go. Mother said a ragged servant girl had no place mixing with well-bred people, and ruining their night. So,'

She took a deep breath.

'Mother and Anna tore her dress, while she was still wearing it. It was horrible. I dared not interfere, and Ella was heartbroken. Mother then walked to the carriage, and Anna dragged me along to.' She stopped talking.

'Go on.' I said.

'Shh, someone's coming' She said. Then I heard it, footsteps.

'You have to go! Now.' She told and ran to open the door, and I followed her, not really wanting to get caught by her ladyship. I was practically out of the door when I turned around.

'Just tell me, is she alright?' I asked her.

Jaqueline hesitated, and then nodded slightly, 'She will be, once the Duke's son has been.'

That did not particularly quell my fears about Ella's wellbeing. But before I could ask what that meant, she had shut the door on me.

I raised my fist to knock at the door, but there were voices on the other side of the door, voices that sounded a lot like Lady Kingston and Lady Anna.

So I decided to not make a sound. If Jaqueline said Ella was going to be alright, I would have to believe her. I had more chores to complete, and besides, if village rumours were to be believed, Lord Christopher and his men were due to arrive tomorrow. If she could just hold on till tomorrow, I hoped everything would turn out for the best.

I had to hope. I couldn't do much more for Ella. I would have to pray that Lord Christopher found his way to her. Find her with her golden slipper.


	17. Chapter 16- Rescue.

**Chapter Sixteen.**

The next morning dawned warm and bright. However, I did not find it to be a particularly good morning, as I woke to discover my courses had arrived.

There was a familiar pain in my belly, so I begrudgingly rolled out of bed in search of my rags and herbal tea. As I sat waiting for the kettle on top of the stove to boil, I began thinking of the past year, how every morning, I was the first one awake, the one who made breakfast for everyone, the one who spent her days cooking and cleaning for everybody else.

It may have just been the idle thoughts, I was particularly emotional when it came to this time of the month. But after I lost my job working at the manor, and mother died, I had never really considered looking for more work. I just accepted that I was now the woman of the house, and so meant I had to stay home and do the tasks mother used to do.

I knew I should not resent everyone else's freedom, apart from maybe the younger ones, they were still small children and deserved to go out and play.

But Daniel and Clara in particular did not really help out much, and they were definitely of working age. I had enjoyed working in the manor, maybe not the back breaking scrubbing I used to do, but the being around other people who weren't my family, the conversations we had, the nights we passed playing cards, or in my case reading out loud.

Now I was doing almost the same job, but for no pay and very little company. I wanted to get back out there, do something else with my life, not spend it stuck here making soup or dusting every day.

The Kettle boiled and I was much soothed by the time I drank the tea; the pain had vanished like it normally did. I went about making breakfast for everyone, again. The routine was exactly the same as yesterday, Clara and Richard slept in, while everyone else took their seats at the table, Father and Alexander left early to go to the field, and then the little ones went out to play, and once again, I was left alone in the house, scrubbing the pots.

My dull daily tasks were interrupted by Clara calling me outside at about midday.

'They're here! The Duke's son and his men, they're actually here!'

I placed down the broom I had in my hand, and followed her outside to see what all the fuss was about. I knew that no one in the village stood a chance of owning the slipper. It was Ella's, but I thought it was amusing to watch them try.

There was a massive crowd in the market square, mainly composed of young maidens. People were craning their necks to see what was happening. Clara pulled my hand around the side of the crowd.

'Come on, they were asking for the girls who went to the ball!' She said, and pushed me forwards.

Before I could protest, I found myself in the middle of a clearing with the crowd surrounding me. I was stood next to Violet, the girl who had arranged the carts to the palace. There were about another fifteen or so girls also stood with us, in some form of line.

'What is going on?' I asked Violet.

'They are trying the slipper on every girl who went to the ball! Just imagine, if it fits, Lord Christopher will propose!' She said excitedly.

Violet had always been one for the melodramatics.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and this charade. I could save them a lot of trouble and just tell them where Ella was, why bother continuing with this?

One of Lord Christopher's men was not stood very far away, attempting to keep people back, so there was actually space for the girls to stand. I felt I owed it to Ella to try and get them to her as quickly as possible.

So, I tried and failed to get the man's attention. I coughed, I said excuse me sir as loud as I dared, I tried shouting hello, but the loud sounds the crowd was making were drowning out my attempts at communicating with him.

And the further forward I moved in the line, the further away I got from the man. In the end I gave up, and decided to just tell the man who presenting the slipper to each maiden.

The closer I got, the more I worried about Ella. There was definitely more to the story Jaqueline had been telling the night before, I just hoped she was alright. The closer I got to the front, the more anxious I got to tell someone to go and find her. The sooner she was out of that house, the happier I would be.

My thoughts were interrupted by the girl behind me, Theresa, pushing me forward, and I realised I was at the front of the line.

Violet had just finished her turn and was standing at the front of the crowd looking a little disappointed. I stepped forward and took a seat on the basic wooden stool that was sat on the floor. I began to unlace my shoe, when I familiar voice made me look up.

'Well, if it isn't Marion Brown!'

I found myself staring into the green eyes of Lord James. 'Hello again.'

I smiled, I had not seen him days. He smiled back, the same smug expression lining his face.

'Shall we?' He asked, gesturing to the golden shoe in his hand.

'Why, yes my good sir.' I responded. I did not see his face, as he had looked down to put the shoe on my foot, but I could hear his laughter.

As predicted, the slipper did not fit my foot, it was much too small. But when Lord James held it back up, it looked larger, as if I should be able to fit it.

It was very strange.

Lord James helped me to my feet, once I had put my shoe back on, and told some other man behind him to take his place. He did not let go of my hand as we moved to the edge of the crowd.

'So, this is where you live, I shall keep that in mind.' He said, his teasing nature had not changed.

'Please don't use it against me.' I told him.

'Well, you know, it is not very far from my manor, maybe the odd flying visit could arise.'

'I would not. My father and brother have far too many questions to ask you.'

'You never said you had a brother.' He admitted.

'I do not.' I said. It was true, technically.

'But you just said you did.' He asked confused.

'I have five.'

'Oh my, you have an entire army to defend your honour!'

'I think Robbie is a little small to be doing that, he is only seven.'

'Seven years old, that is when they are the fiercest!' He joked.

I laughed a little, trying to imagine Robbie fighting James was a rather amusing thought.

When I stopped laughing, I remembered my resolve on meeting a person on this mission to find Ella.

'How long have you been searching?' I asked.

'A few days. We have been nearly everywhere. The men are getting more and more exhausted and disheartened.' He said, with a serious tone to his voice.

'We haven't had much sleep, as you can probably tell.'

I looked at his face, and he did indeed have prominent bags under his eyes.

'But, Christopher is determined to find her, and what is a friend to do in this situation, apart from follow him blindly.'

'Have you checked the manor house, just up that path?' I asked, anxious of the response.

'Yes we have, we have just come from there. Two maidens, one with stupid hair, and the other looked a little like a servant, although her dress was finely made. Why do you ask?' He looked at me questioningly.

'Did you say two maidens?' I asked. 'Only two?'

'Yes, there was only two.' He responded. My anger grew. If there were only two maidens, then that means that Ella had been kept out of sight, most likely locked in a room somewhere.

Suddenly, seeing Jaqueline with dirty clothes made sense. Ella had been locked away since the day of the ball, and it was left to the only half competent person in the house, Jaqueline, to do everything.

Ella had said she was much nicer than her family. She frequently helped Ella, so I'm sure Ella taught her a few things while she was down there.

Ella had been locked away for attending the ball. How cruel could Lady Kingston be? I stared at James.

'There should have been three. There are three girls living in that house.' I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

'What?' James asked. 'What do you mean?'

'There are three maidens living in the manor, two sisters and their step sister, who has been very wrongly treated by her step family. She is the girl you are looking for.' I told him.

He didn't say anything for a moment, then held out his hand, and said 'Come. You must tell Christopher.' I took his hand, it felt familiar.

'You my good lady, may have just saved me another night of sleeping in a barn, and for that, I will be eternally in your debt if what you say is true.' He told me excitedly as we made our way through the crowd of people, who were still watching the girls try and fail to fit the slipper.

We burst through the far side of the crowd, and was confronted by several horses, and a face I now recognised as Lord Christopher.

I sank into a curtsey almost instinctively, while James began speaking to his friend.

'This is Marion. I met her at the ball. She knows where your golden princess is.' He said, smiling at me. I rose from my curtsey and was greeted by Lord Christopher standing in front of me, with a hopeful expression on his face.

'Truly, do you know where she is?' He asked, he could not contain his excitement.

'Yes, she lives in the manor house.' I said.

His face fell, quite considerably. He clearly did not believe me.

'No she does not. We have just visited there, and neither of the girls were her.' He told me.

'She does live there! There should have been three girls trying on the slipper, not two.' I replied.

'She lives with her step family, the ones who currently own the house. Well, if living is what you can call it. They have made her life a misery, and more than likely she was locked away out of sight to try and keep her away from you. Her step mother is a very cruel woman.'

Lord Christopher listened to my speech, but did not look completely convinced.

'If you do not believe me, go back to the manor. Look behind every locked door, the servant's quarters, the hidden passages. I promise, you will find her there.' I cried.

'How do you know this?' He asked me.

'I used to be a servant there myself. I know how cruel that woman is, and I know the manor.'

Lord Christopher looked at James. 'Do you trust her?' He asked.

James looked back at me, a smile gracing his lips, but this time, not one of arrogance, but one of genuine happiness.

'Yes, yes I do.' He said, still looking at me.

Lord Christopher nodded and turned around to climb on top of his horse. James followed suit. Lord Christopher shouted to the other men to get on their horses, they were leaving.

'Would you show us?' He asked me.

I nodded back to him.

'I'm afraid we don't have a spare horse, would you care to ride with James?' Lord Christopher inquired.

'No, I do not mind.' I said, as James lowered his hand down and I grasped it.

I had never been on top of a horse before, and so was a little anxious. James pulled me up, and I swung my leg over the back of the horse, perching myself on top.

'Hold on, I like to ride fast.' James said.

'WHERE?' I shouted at him, as the horse began to move.

He stopped for a moment, and then reached backwards for my hands. I placed them in his, and he moved them around his front so they were tightly holding onto him.

It felt strangely intimate, holding someone like this, from behind and tightly, but as the horse took off, I paid no attention to that, only how to stay on without falling off and killing myself. James was right, he did like to go fast.

Lord Christopher was slightly ahead of us, and the rest of the men, around five in total, trailed behind us.

The wind whipped deliciously in my hair, making it fall out of my braid slightly. My cheeks coloured, and my lungs breathed in truly fresh air. I had never had this feeling before, riding a horse before, and it was glorious.

Even though I had been this route many times before, I had never experience it quite like this. The journey normally took around twenty minutes, fifteen if you ran it.

On horseback, we made it in five.

The grey stones of the manor house came into view, and we slowed. Once we got to the courtyard, Lord Christopher did not even wait for his horse to stop. He swung his leg over the back of his horse, and strode up the front steps to the door.

With his hand curled tightly into a fist, he hit the door rapidly many times, while shouting for someone to open the door.

Myself and James were not quite as urgent. The horse came to a halt before either of us made a move to get down. James was the first one off, gracefully jumping off the horse.

I remained a little longer sat on that beautiful chestnut coloured stallion. At that moment, my list of things to do if I ever suddenly became wealthy grew; I wanted to learn how to ride a horse, along with owning a small library.

My hair completely was now falling out of the braid I had put it in, and so, I pulled the green ribbon out of the end of it, letting my hair fall freely down my back, slightly curled as it had stayed so long in a braid. I shook it a little, trying to get the remnants of the braid out.

I turned my head to look at James, hoping he knew how to get me down off the horse. He was staring at me, his eyes wide, the smile that he usually wore wiped off his face without a trace. His mouth was slightly agape, and his face held an expression I did not quite know.

It puzzled me.

I waited another moment and then spoke.

'Can you help me down? Please?' I asked him.

He shook his head slightly, as if waking himself from a daze, and lifted his arms into the air.

They circled my waist, and he tightened his grip slightly as I pushed myself off the horse, not quite as gracefully as he did, into his waiting arms.

I expected to hit the ground immediately, but it was several more seconds before my feet touched earth. He lowered me slowly, as if I were a precious fragile object that must be handled with care.

When I did reach the floor, he released his grip on me, and our attention was drawn by the loud opening of the front door of the manor.

Lady Kingston stood before us, her sickly sweet smile plastered to her face.

'My Lord, have you returned to claim my daughter?' She asked politely. Just then, she must have seen me as her eyes narrowed and the smile vanished from her face.

'No, I am here seeking another lady, one that you have concealed.' Lord Christopher told her, his voice only betraying a little anger.

'Well,' She said staring at me,' I am sorry to tell you, but your information is incorrect.' Lady Kingston replied.

'Would you mind if we took a look around, just to be clear.' He said, with a tone that implied that no was not an answer.

'There is really no one else her, my lord. She,' Lady Kingston said, pointing directly at me. 'Is a liar and a wicked child!'

I stood my ground, staring straight back at her, not moving a muscle. 'Now, my lord, it has been a trying day for us all, and we really are very busy. I have matters to attend to.' Lord Christopher looked down heartened.

He was clearly too polite to simply burst in a demand to look around, as was his right as a lord, he outranked Lady Kingston quite considerably.

I, on the other hand, was definitely not too polite, and could not care less what Lady Evil thought. She was not going to do this to Ella, not again.

I stormed right past James, and up the steps passing Lord Christopher, who just looked shocked. I walked right up to Lady Kingston, who threw out her arm to stop me from entering.

'Last time you were her,' She snarled.' I forbade you from entering my house again.'

'Well, it's lucky then, this is not your house, it should rightfully be Ella's. You never deserved a penny.' I told her. 'And, another thing, I do not care.'

With that, I ducked as quickly as I could and ran underneath her arm, straight into the entrance hall of the house.

I ran as fast as I could towards the servant's door that was hidden just off to the left of the stair case. Lady Kingston's fashionable dress must have slowed her down as she did not catch up to me. I ran down the corridor and began shouting for Ella.

I could hear male voices behind me, and knew that Lord Christopher, James and the other men must have taken my lead and just walked in past Lady Kingston.

What I would have given to see the look on her face at that moment.

I ended up in the kitchen and found Jaqueline standing in front of the stove, stirring what looked like stew. She was clearly surprised to see me, but did not say anything as just then, seven men burst through the door behind me, Lord Christopher and James amongst them.

'Jaqueline, where is she?' I pleaded. 'Please, tell me.' She opened her mouth to speak, but then more people came through the door, Lady Evil, followed by Lady Idiot at her heels.

'Jaqueline, dear. I think you should tell our guests that there is no one here, just the three of us.' Lady Kingston cooed.

'Yes, only the three of us.' Lady Anna repeated.

'Jaqueline, please, she needs you!' I told her in a quieter voice. 'This is wrong, you know it.'

There was silence for a moment, which was surprising, seeing as though there were eleven people stood in the kitchen, that was meant to hold six.

Jaqueline opened her mouth, her head down, and I knew she was going to say whatever her mother wanted her to say.

I worked out a long time ago, that she had no confidence in herself at all, that was why she hid her face so often, and why she was the one down here cooking for her family.

'Jaqueline, you know this is wrong. Do it for her. She would for you.' I said to her, begging with my eyes.

She looked at me, and started to smile. In a very quiet voice, that I was sure only I could hear she whispered.

'You're right, she would.'

The something rather miraculous happened. She lifted her head, straightened her spine and took a deep breath.

'No mother.' She said in a very loud voice.

'There are not only three of us. Ella is here too. You locked her in that horrid attic.'

And with that she slipped a small key into my hand, as the some of the men turned around and began to make their way out of the door. Lord Christopher ordered two men to stay behind and watch over Lady Kingston and Lady Anna.

Once I had the key in hand, I smiled and nodded to Jaqueline quickly, and then ran out of the room, Lord Christopher and James following close behind me.

I knew exactly where the attic was, I had gotten lost on my first day and accidently opened the door that lead up there. Over the years, I found my way around the house easier, and the passage to the attic became a regular trip, mainly because it also led to the library.

We made our way along the corridor as quickly as we could in the near dark, there were a few candlesticks in the wall, but none of them were lit, so we had to rely on the light coming in from under doors to guide us. I did not trip or stumble, I had done this a hundred times in the dark.

We at last reached the large wooden door, and I fumbled with the key, trying to get it into the lock.

When it was last turned, I pushed it open, and was once again greeted by a cold gust of wind. The stairs were still as large and windy as I remembered. We all raced up them, Lord Christopher taking them two at a time, until we reached the top, and I was slightly out of breath.

There was another door greeting us there, and I passed Lord Christopher the key, as he was in front of me, but it did not fit.

He tried to get it to work for several more seconds, till James noticed a smaller key hanging on a hook in the wall. He pulled it off and handed it to his friend who then fit it inside the key hole, and turned the handle.

He pushed open the door, and an empty room greeted us.

It was small, and there was nothing in it, no bed, no blanket, no sign that anyone had used this room recently.

The floorboards looked old and rotting, and only a very small window let in some light. He walked through looking around. James and I followed him.

We were exceedingly puzzled for a moment, until I walked past the place the door ended and a loud cry came from behind the door. I spun quickly and saw Ella, with a water pitcher raised above her head, as if ready to strike me.

She stopped moving, and recognition spread over her face. She quickly threw the pitcher down to the side and moved to embrace me tightly.

Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying, and she looked thin. She had always been thin, but she looked almost skeletal.

'Marion! It's you!' She cried.

I could feel her tears falling onto my shoulder. I embraced her just as tightly as she did me. I guessed her eyes were closed or she was looking down, as she had clearly not yet spotted Lord Christopher.

'I'm sorry I nearly hit you. I thought it was them, I heard a lot of footsteps, and I thought they were coming.' She choked back a sob.

I slowly lessened the pressure of my hug and brought her up to face me, she was wiping away her tears. She instantly froze, and I followed her eye line over my shoulder.

'I've brought some one here to see you.' I told her.

I smiled, but I knew she wasn't looking at me.

I stepped back and went to join James on the far side of the room. Lord Christopher and Ella were staring at each other, Ella in shock, Christopher in awe.

'I do believe that I asked to see every girl who attended the ball.' He told her, his voice had softened. 'I do not think you have tried on this slipper yet.'

He glanced down at her feet, and saw she already wore no shoes beneath her tattered blue cotton dress.

He knelt before her, and opened the bag he had tied around his waist. The golden slipper was brought out and he held it in front of Ella. She slowly lifted her foot towards the shoe, and it slotted inside perfectly.

A perfect fit.

Lord Christopher sighed audibly, and more tears ran down Ella's face, but this time, a wide beam lit up her entire being.

As Lord Christopher began to stand up, I felt James reach for my hand and pull me towards the door. I followed him without question, knowing that they would probably want some privacy. I walked out of the small room, closing the door on what I imagine was a truly magical moment.

I felt myself breathe at last. It had been a very unusual day.


	18. Chapter 18- The aftermath.

**Chapter Seventeen.**

James and I made our way down the winding staircase. He had thought we better go and tell the other men that we have found her. They would still be looking. We did not dare speak until we got back into the dark corridor, and we were sure we would not disturb Ella and Lord Christopher.

Once the door closed behind us, James began to speak.

'I do not mean to pry, but why exactly were you forbidden from entering this house again?'

'I may or may not have called her ladyship a bitch.' I told him. As I predicted, he burst out laughing.

'She had just dismissed all of the servant's, with no real reason, so I felt it was justified.'

'But she clearly did not dismiss all of you, there was a that servant girl upstairs, and the one in the kitchen now.'

'They are not servants.' I told him. 'The one downstairs, is her youngest daughter, Jaqueline, and the one we just rescued is her step daughter, Ella, the person who has lived here since her birth. I used to work for her parents, before they both sadly passed on, and Lady Evil took over.'

'So you are saying that the child of the former owner of this house does not run it?' He inquired.

'No, she does not. Her stepmother has made her a servant, no, a slave her own house. She gets no money, no time off, and although she will not tell me exactly what they did to her, but they did something several months ago, and she has never disobeyed them since. Clearly, until today.' I informed him.

'Interesting.' This was the only response I got from James.

We emerged from the darkened corridor, back into the kitchen. Jaqueline had left, and there was only Lady Kingston, Lady Anna and two men who were stood by the door, making sure they did not leave. Lady Anna looked a little scared, but Lady Kingston showed no such emotion.

Her eyes were shooting daggers at me. Her mouth had morphed into an inhuman snarl. Her complexion was a pale as ice, and she emitted an aura of pure hate. Her face was solid, unmoving as she glared at me.

I was not going to be intimidated though. She could ill wish me all she dared, it was not going to ruin my mood of triumph and relief of finding Ella.

James, who was standing next to me, was also staring at Lady Kingston, though I found it impossible to figure out what he was thinking. We stayed like this for a moment, each daring the other to back down first. It was James who broke the silence.

'Marion, could you go and find the others please. I would like to have a little talk with Lady Kingston here.'

I did not question him, but nodded and walked right past her, keeping my eyes forward, towards the door on the far side of the room.

I opened it and walked outside and back down the steps, past where I had dropped my bag in front of Ella on my first day. I smiled a little at the memory of it, how much had changed since then.

I kept walking round the house, and in through the front door, where I could hear the loud footsteps of men walking around the house, trying to find the door that led to the attic.

'Lord Christopher has found her, there is no need to continue looking.' I shouted. Two pairs of footsteps stopped, and one of the men shouted to the last man, telling him to stop.

All three of them walked down into the entrance hall to where I stood, and the first one asked me a question.

'What are our orders now?' He asked. I was stunned, I had never ever before been asked to give orders. I knew he meant 'had Lord Christopher or James given any orders' but it still felt strange to be asked.

'I think you should ready the Horses, I imagine you will be leaving soon.' The man who asked the question nodded and they all walked past me, out of the open front door.

I was left alone, standing in the house I used to live in. All was quiet, I lifted my head and looked around. I had not been back here, in the main part of the house since the day my mother died.

The coloured walls were the same, the staircase rose before me. I had lost count of the times I had scrubbed those wooden steps. Although it was hard work, I enjoyed it.

This house had been so full of laughter and joy. You could nearly always hear Ella singing when she was happy, and it echoed through the corridors.

Or Mrs Pole nervous chattering when there was something big happening, and she had to get items crossed off her lists.

Or Mrs Taylor's strict yet kind way of telling me exactly where things belonged in her kitchen.

I could hear the deep chuckle of Sir Henry that he used to give whenever Ella did something that was so completely Ella, dancing barefoot in the garden, or insisting we should not catch the mice, because they were living creatures too, and they needed a place to live as well.

Lady Eleanor's voice drifted around this room. Her kindly way of thinking, and how she always asked for everything politely, her tone making you know how welcome you were in this house.

I had loved this place. It was never quite home, but for three years, it was very close to.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a small pain in my abdomen, it had been a few hours since I drank my tea, and the effects were beginning to wear off.

As much as I had loved the horse ride, I do not think it did anything to help banish the pain. I knew I had to get back home, not only did I need more tea, but it was well past midday, so my siblings would be getting hungry, if they had not already helped themselves.

So, with one wistful last look, I smiled at the house, then turned around and walked out of the door, for the last time.

I got halfway back home, when I was stopped by loud hoof noises getting closer and closer to me. Without turning around, I moved to the side of the path to let them past.

But they did not go past.

The sounds of the horse stopped just behind me, and I had to look. James was climbing off the horse, a look of relief in his eyes.

'Where do you think you are going?' He asked, landing on the floor.

'Home, I have things to do.' I told him.

'So you just left, without saying goodbye?' He inquired.

'I really have to go, I've been gone far too long already. And besides, you were busy, and I was not going to disturb Ella and Lord Christopher.'

'Why do you always call him Lord?' James asked with a small laugh.

'Because he is a lord. I am of lower rank than him, so I should call him by his title, as is expected.'

'So, what do you call me?'

'Lord James.'

'I've told you before, I'm only a sir, not a lord.'

'Lord Smug suits you better.'

'You are right, it probably does.' He laughed. His green eyes shimmering with mirth.

We fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, when the pain snapped me into reality again.

'I really need to go, my family will be missing me.'

'Ah, yes, your five brothers.'

'And two sisters.'

'Stars above, there are even more of you! Do you also live with twenty cousins and sixteen aunts and uncles?'

'No, just my siblings and Father. But I really have to go.'

'May I offer you a ride?' He asked, gesturing to the horse he still was holding onto by the reigns.

The pain in my belly was worsening with every passing minute, I knew that sitting on top of a horse would not do much to lessen it.

'No thank you. I'll walk. And I think you are needed back at the manor, I imagine, Lord Christopher and Ella will have matters to take care of.'

'You are probably right.' He said with a sigh. 'But, before you go, if you are Ella's friend, I would imagine you will be invited to the wedding.'

'Are they actually engaged? Did they come down from the attic?' I asked him, before I could stop myself.

'No, they haven't come down yet, but do you doubt they will be engaged when they do emerge?'

I shook my head, if their behaviour at the ball was any indication, there was no doubt Ella and Lord Christopher were going to be married.

'Then I will look forward to seeing you there, and I hope you save a dance for me.' He smiled, no longer smug, but one of genuine feeling.

I smiled back at him. 'Maybe, if you are lucky.' I teased.

His hand moved forward and took mine. He grasped it tenderly, and then lifted it up to his face.

'Until the next time, my lady.' He said, then kissed the back of my hand, just like he had done at the ball. I could not stop the blood running to my cheeks, I could feel them heating up.

'Until the next time, Lord Smug.' I told him. We both laughed a little, then he dropped my hand and walked back towards his horse, and lifted his leg into the stirrup and swung his other leg over so he was sat on top. He made a clicking sound with his mouth, and the horse began to move, turning around slowly. James looked down at me and shouted.

'Goodbye Marion.'

And I called back to him.

'Goodbye James.'

Then he was gone, riding back up the path. I watched as his silhouette disappeared around the corner. Then, I turned back around and started to walk back home.

'Just wait till everyone hears about this!' I thought.


	19. Chapter 18- Ella's Letter.

**Chapter Eighteen.**

I was right, all of my siblings revelled in the story of Ella's rescue. It was the only thing they wanted to speak of all afternoon, and all the way through our late dinner.

My excursion to the manor meant that I did not start preparing dinner until much later in the day. This did not matter much to the rest of my family, who once I had told them of what had happened descended on me with endless questions.

It was only when I eventually got the little ones to bed, and the others followed after, did the questioning stop. I was exhausted after cleaning the plates from dinner, and I quickly followed suit. I practically flopped onto my bed, and was asleep moments later.

The next day, things had just about returned to normal. I was once again alone in the house, while everyone else was outside, either playing or working. And I was stuck doing the housework.

It would have been a normal, generic day, if not for a knock at the door mid-morning. I was not expecting anyone, so was surprised at this. I went to the door to open it, and found the herald who had delivered the news about the Ball standing at my front door.

'Are you Marion Brown?' He asked.

'Yes.' I responded, my voice raised slightly, not quite sure of what was going on.

'I was asked to give you this.' He said, lifting his hand, and offering me a thick envelope. I took it from him and thanked him. He did not say anything else, and left immediately.

I looked down at the envelope, which had my name scrawled on top with curly writing.

I tore the seal on the back, and moved inside to sit down. Inside were several sheets of parchment, written on the front and back. A thicker piece of parchment fell out, and onto my lap. I picked it up, and realised it was a wedding invitation.

_You are cordially invited to the wedding of Lord Christopher Howards and Lady Ella Cecil, at the turn of the new month, to be held at Duke William Howard's Palace._

The rest of the invitation contained information of times and dress codes and other such matters. I placed it to one side, and decided to read it later. I picked up the several sheets of parchment with writing all over it.

_Dear Marion,_

_I do not know how to begin. I owe you my freedom and my happiness, and I will forever be grateful to you for that. I know I can never repay you, but I hope the invitation to my wedding and the promise of a new dress for you to wear will begin to make up the debt._

_I feel I owe you an explanation of what happened to me in the past week._

_After I delivered all those dresses to you and the other village girls, I arrived back home and set to work on my own dress. It was Mother's, beautiful and white, with pink floral decorations sown into the neckline. I'm sure if you saw it, you would remember._

_I was called down to the kitchen by Lady Kingston who had many more tasks for me to complete, and so my dress had to wait in my room. While I was peeling vegetables to cook for their evening meal, a knock came at my door. There was an old traveling woman, who asked if she could rest by my fire for a little while._

_Of course I said she could._

_She was very pleasant company, you know how empty that kitchen feels when you are all alone. Anyway, Lady Kingston called me upstairs while we were in the middle of our conversation, and I said she could stay until I got back._

_When I greeted Lady Kingston, or Evil, as you like to call her, she demanded to know why the stairs were not shining with her own reflection, and told me to scrub them again, after I had finished preparing and serving dinner. I returned to the Kitchen and offered the traveling lady another cup of tea, but she declined, claiming she had seen all she needed to see, and she did not want to impose on me any further, and so she left._

_I'm sorry my friend if this tale is not told very well, you were always much better than me at telling stories like this._

_Anyway, the night of the ball arrived, and as I had finished all my tasks for the day, I saw no reason why I could not attend. Lady Kingston had the carriage brought around, and there was more than enough space for four people._

_But when I walked into the entrance hall, Lady Evil shouted at me and told me I was not allowed to go._

_I pleaded and begged her to let me go. I mainly wanted to see my friends, you and the man I had met that day, you know, the one who helped me with the cart. But Lady Kingston was insistent, and just to spite me, she tore my dress._

_Lady Anna also joined in, ripping and pulling it to pieces. Lady Jaqueline simply stood there in shock._

_It was horrid._

_I had spent all my spare time on that dress, and it was Mother's, which made it even worse. Once they finished, they climbed into the carriage, Lady Anna pulling Lady Jaqueline inside, and they drove off, leaving me in tattered rags and tears falling._

_I ran inside and sat at the kitchen table, when there was a knock at the door. The traveller woman from a few days previous was standing there, and she said she had a gift for me to repay my kindness the other day._

_She held out to me the most beautiful pair of golden shoes, more like slippers, I had ever seen in my life. I told her I could not accept such a precious gift. She insisted, saying_

_'Well, if you do not take these, what will you wear with your dress?' I was very confused by this, until I looked down, and saw I was wearing a stunning gold dress. It had appeared like magic._

_I tell you the next part in strict confidence Marion, as no one is really supposed to know, but the Traveller woman is actually a fairy in disguise!_

_She told me, she wanders around, looking for kindness, and repays the giver with special gifts, each unique to what the person desires._

_I wanted to go to the ball, and so she gave me a dress, shoes, a tiara, and a carriage to get there and back in. I was about to get in the carriage when I asked her for one more small gift, that my step family would not recognise me._

_As it was a gift I had asked for, the terms were slightly different. The magic that would keep me from being recognised would only last for a short amount of time, till midnight precisely, the rest of the gifts were mine to keep. I set off to the ball, my heart aglow._

_I arrived a little late, as you can no doubt remember. When I walked inside, the first person I noticed was the man who had helped me with the cart. He was standing in the centre of the room! You must know the next part, about the dance with Christopher. He remembered me, and he was just as charming and handsome as I remembered._

_I will not bore you with the details of what happened when we left the ball room. He showed me the gardens and we talked and laughed all night. There was one moment, when Christopher left to go and collect some drinks, where I accidentally walked into Lady Anna. I froze, scared and forgot about the magic, but she had not a clue who I was. Christopher returned and the incident was quickly forgotten._

_It was only when the clock struck quarter to twelve did I realise I had to leave. There was only a short time left before Lady Evil and Lady Idiot, as you so fondly call them, would work out it was me, and so I ran._

_I felt terrible leaving Christopher behind with no explanation, but I was too scared about what they would do if they found me here, and if I got home before midnight, they would have no knowledge of me being at the ball, and I would escape their wrath._

_I took a wrong turning somewhere in the gardens, managing to lose Christopher along the way._

_When I spotted the way back to the ballroom, I began to run, there was only five minutes left. I got to the building and saw Christopher chasing me, quite a way behind me. I wished I could have turned around, but I was too frightened, so I simply ran._

_I ran through the middle of the ballroom, you probably noticed that part, and straight into the carriage that was waiting for me. I told the driver to hurry, and he did. I stopped briefly on the Palace steps to remove my shoes, running in heels is so hard!_

_As I drove off, I saw Christopher out of the window, at the top of the palace steps waving at me to stop._

_But I did not._

_I got home, without incident. I realised in the carriage that one of my shoes had fallen out of my hand while I was running, but I was too occupied with getting away I had not noticed. When I got home, I told the driver of the carriage to leave as quickly as it could, and to go home._

_I ran up to my bedroom and changed into the closest dress I could find. I took the tiara off my head and placed my one shoe down. I did not find another pair to put on._

_I knew I had to hide the fairy gifts somewhere my step family would not look._

_And so, I hid them under the loose floorboard in the library, you know the one to the left of the bookcase. They never enter that room unless completely necessary. I figured they would be safe there._

_Unfortunately, I was sadly mistaken in understanding how the magic had worked. I thought that it meant that if I was seen before midnight by my stepfamily, they would not know who I was, and would remain ignorant of the identity of the girl they saw at the ball._

_However, what it actually meant was that until midnight, my stepfamily would not recognise me, but as soon as midnight passed, the magic disappeared, and they would know I was the girl who danced with Christopher at the ball._

_I did not count on Lady Anna bursting through the Kitchen door, with her mother close behind her. They knew I was the girl at the ball, and they were both furious. They shouted and cursed at me, and Lady Kingston dragged me up to the attic and locked me behind the door as a punishment._

_I spent the night in there. It was cold and dark, but I knew I would be let out in the morning to do chores. I had the memories of the ball to entertain me and keep me in good spirits._

_The next morning, I awoke earlier than the family, as usual, and so I waited. By the time the sun was at its highest point, I knew something was wrong. By mid-afternoon, Jaqueline came up to the room to deliver my meal. I tried to get her to tell me what was going on, but she placed the food on the floor and closed the door behind her._

_I shouted after her, then I heard a small voice through the wood._

_Jaqueline told me of the proclamation in the village, and said that her mother and Anna had decided to keep me here until Christopher had passed through, preferably taking Anna with him as his wife._

_I begged her to let me go. I tried my hardest to convince her, but I knew deep down she would not stand up to her family. And so I waited. Jaqueline brought me meals, and took them away again._

_I stayed there for three days._

_On the morning of the third day, I was visited by Lady Kingston. I confronted her, asked her why she must be so cruel to me. I shouted at her for tricking my father, and making my life a misery._

_She said such horrible things to me Marion, truly cruel things. I know my parents had always told me to be kind to everyone, but in that moment, I hated her, truly hated her._

_I know this sounds terrible, but it is the truth._

_Our conversation, if you can call it that, ended in me screaming at her to let me out, and her locking the door on me, again. When Jaqueline came to deliver my breakfast, and found me in tears on the floor. With my bowl of meagre bowl of porridge, she slipped a key into my hand. Before I could thank her, she left._

_When I had finished my food, I was still very hungry, the meals I had been given were not very substantial.I heard the sounds of horses outside, and knew that it must be Christopher on his search._

_I used the key and opened the door and tried to escape. To be fair, I got quite far, I got to the entrance hall before I was pulled back by my hair._

_Lady Kingston had grabbed me, and pulled me back up to the attic, locking back up there. I tried screaming, but she covered my mouth._

_When she locked the door, she told me once Christopher had gone, I was going to receive the punishment I deserved. I tried crying out, but she had locked the windows before I was placed in the room, so I stared out of the window watching Christopher ride away._

_I tried to hold back the sobs, but I failed. I sat on the floor for a good while, scared of what Lady Evil was going to do to me._

_So I knew I had to get out. I scanned the room for something to help me, and spotted an empty water pitcher on the floor._

_So I waited. It was only when I heard several pairs of footsteps come up the stairs, and I grabbed the pitcher and hid behind the door._

_I did not realise it was you coming through the door, if it had been, I wouldn't have tried to hit you on the head!_

_I am still so sorry for that. I was so relieved you had come to get me!_

_And I can never thank you enough for showing Christopher where I was. Once you left the room, Christopher told me of his love for me, and the pain of these last few days. I knew I loved him, I think I have loved him since the very first time I set eyes on him._

_He told me of what had happened downstairs, how Jaqueline finally stood up to her family, and how you had pushed past Lady Evil to get to me. I told him who I was, about my parents and my stepfamily. We stayed up there for, I am not quite sure how long. But it was just what I needed, I needed to tell someone._

_Also, Marion, I now know exactly what those books were talking about when it comes to true love, and kissing. I am blushing just writing this down. And he proposed, Marion! I was so happy to accept him. I am going to be his wife!_

_By the time we made it back downstairs, Christopher's friend, I think his name is James, told us that you had to go home, so I did not get a chance to tell you all this in person, hence this stupidly long letter._

_I hope you will accept the wedding invitation; it also comes with an extension to your entire family._

_I would also ask you to come and stay with me for a few days before the wedding, if you can afford to spend the time away from home. I would dearly love to see you again. Jaqueline is here with me; she did not want to stay at the manor._

_We are now living at the palace. The herald I sent to deliver this letter will be back tomorrow; I enclosed some extra paper for you to write your response. Just hand it to him, and he will ensure I will get it._

_I look forward to seeing you again. All the best to you, and your family._

_Lots of Love from_

_Ella._


	20. Chapter 19- A Guest at the Palace.

**Chapter Nineteen.**

Two weeks later.

The comfort surrounded me. It was like I was floating in a cloud. Sunlight drifted in through the window, illuminating the room. I slowly opened my eyes, revelling in the softness of the bed I was in.

I had never before been in such a comfortable bed, there was a layer of real goose feathers on top of the mattress. This made you practically sink into the bed.

I revelled in it.

My bed at home was a simply a straw stuffed fabric box. This was as if someone had captured a cloud from the highest reaches of the sky, and brought it down, covered it in gossamer, and placed it carefully on top of that bed.

It was strange not being woken up by younger siblings, or straw sticking in my side. It was fantastic. I had slept in slightly, the sun was fairly high in the sky, several hours past dawn, but as I was here as a guest, it did not matter.

I was staying at the Duke's palace! As a guest! Like the nobility. When Ella had invited me to stay with her for her wedding, I had expected to be in the servant quarters, or a spare bed in a small room.

I had never imagined being in one of the guest suites, this room was larger than my house! The walls were painted a light spring green, with floral decorations etched along the border. There was enough space in the room for a chaise long, covered in grey velvet and a fire place, with a marble mantle.

I knew the Duke was wealthy, but I never thought any one was so wealthy they could afford to decorate their guest rooms like that!

I had arrived at the palace yesterday. Ella had sent a carriage to pick me up and bring me to help with wedding preparations.

The twenty minutes it took to get there in the carriage were actually very comfortable. The last time I had made that trip, I was on the back of a cart that shook and jolted every time it hit a rut in the road. By the time we got there, we had been jostled about so much, we had to take a few minutes before entering the ballroom. But arriving in a carriage was so much nicer, it was almost like gliding by comparison

Ella had greeted me on the front steps, running towards me and throwing her arms around me as soon as I stepped out. She looked so much better than she had done that day at the manor, there was colour in her cheeks, and while she was still very thin, she just looked skinny rather than skeletal. Her ragged blue dress was gone, and replaced with a pretty pale pink day dress, with all the hemming intact.

We had spent the day catching up, wandering around the palace and discussing wedding plans. It was to take place two days after I arrived, and there was still so much to be done. But I was given the very special task of being one of Ella's bridesmaids.

The other Bridesmaid was Jaqueline, and Lady Evil and Lady Idiot were not invited, which I thought served them right. I guessed they would be fine missing just Ella's wedding, but not the biggest social event in the area of the year!

I hoped they were bereft.

As a bridesmaid, I got given a beautiful new dress to wear, the same style as Jaqueline. They were sky blue silk, with no sleeves, only a small piece of chiffon covered the shoulders. A golden floral pattern decorated the neckline and the bottom of the skirt, and a golden sash was tied around the waist line of the dress.

Although I did prefer my emerald green dress, I had to admit how beautiful this one was. Myself, Jaqueline and Ella spent the afternoon having our dresses fitted, giggling amongst ourselves every time we accidentally disobeyed the seamstresses command.

That was usually 'Stay Still.'

Jaqueline had apologised to me when we first saw each other, and I had forgiven her completely. I had found in her an unlikely friend, even if she still was a little shy.

The food there was amazing, I had a small sample of it at the Ball, but eating three courses of it was quite something else. The only thing about the meals was that they were in the dining room, and was also attended by Lord Christopher and his father, the Duke.

They were perfectly polite to me, and Lord Christopher even tried to include me in conversation occasionally.

These attempts were short lived though, as his attention was very clearly on Ella all the time. The way they looked at each other, the way they joked and laughed with each other, it was clear they did not care there was anybody else in the room.

It reminded me of the story in my book, the one I used to tell my sisters. The golden haired princess who fell desperately in love with a servant boy, and chooses a life of poverty over a royal one just to be with him.

It was similar I suppose, but in reverse. Fortunately for Ella though, patriarchal society meant that her station in life was elevated, not Lord Christopher's brought down low. But I was sure the love was the same.

I even caught them a few times holding each other's hand underneath the table in between courses. Lord Christopher was always holding her hand firmly, not in anger though, almost as if he needed to reassure himself she was still here beside him, and she was not going to run away again.

The next morning, when I had finished my musings over the comfort of the bed, I reached over and pulled the chord next to my bed.

I now had the power to summon servants, and it felt good. I sat up in bed, and arranged the sheets around me so they were slightly neater, like I was composed even in sleep.

A maid, she could not have been much older than fifteen, entered the room and curtsied. I had never before been curtsied to, and found it rather strange, yet nice.

I asked her for some breakfast and she left with another curtsey. I began to see why nobility liked servants to bow and curtsey to them so much. I rolled out of bed and started to get changed into the dress I wore the previous night to dinner.

Ella had lent it to me, mainly so I would not be treated like a servant while I was here. It was a simple cream muslin dress, with a simple pattern of flowers printed onto it. It was drawn in higher than my waist, so it had a distinctly empire line feel to it. I slipped it back on, over my head, and pulled the laces at the back, tying them in a bow. I sat down at the small table in my room when my breakfast arrived, and ate it quickly.

I knew there was much to get done that day. The wedding was the day after, and so everything needed to be sorted out by today at the latest.

I left my room in search of Ella, ready for my first task of the day. I had been to Ella's room before, it was where we had our fitting done, but the problem was I did not know how to get there from my room. I spent a long while getting lost, and there was not a single servant around who I could ask directions from.

I rounded another corner, still hopelessly lost, when I accidentally walked completely head first into someone. They were quite a bit bigger than me, and I stumbled backwards and ended up on the floor, with a rather painful crash.

'I am very sorry,' I heard a familiar voice say. I turned my head up to look, and saw the concerned face of Lord Christopher looking down at me. He offered his hand forward and it took it, pulling me to my feet.

'I am sorry too, my lord.' I said. 'I should have been looking where I was going.'

'There's no need to call me that.' He said with a small smile on his face. 'As a friend of Ella, you are also a friend of mine. I am not a lord to a friend, only Christopher.'

'Well then, thank you for the assistance Christopher.' I told him, the name sounded strange on my lips.

'I believe I also owe you thanks.' He said. 'For that day at the manor, without you there to guide us, I do not think I would have ever found my Ella again. You have my eternal gratitude for helping me.'

'You are very welcome. I am just glad she is no longer in that house.' I said.

'So am I. With all the things that went on there, I am so glad she is nowhere near that evil woman. Hopefully soon she will be out of our lives for good, just as soon as James gets that evidence.'

'I'm sorry, what evidence?' I asked, very confused.

'Oh, I thought you knew. James started this whole investigation based on something you said.'

'Pardon?' I was getting more and more confused by the second.

'It's nothing to worry about, hopefully James will explain when he gets here.'

'Anyway, was there a reason you were here, before I accidentally ran into you?' He asked me.

'Yes, I was trying to find Ella's room. I got a little lost I'm afraid.' I told him.

'As luck would have it, I am also headed that way, would you like to accompany me?' He asked, offering his arm. I nodded and took it.

We started walking in the direction I had just come from, clearly my sense of direction needed a lot of fine tuning.

'James is supposed to be arriving back this afternoon. I think the two of you know each other?' He asked.

'Yes, we met at the ball.'

'And what do you think of him?' He asked.

I was a little taken aback by his question. My face must have betrayed this, as Christopher smiled and reassured me.

'I only ask, as he seems quite taken with you. I have heard tales of you from Ella, and every time she speaks of you, James listens very attentively.'

I was surprised to hear this.

'He also talks of you whenever the topic of the ball or the day at the manor turns up in conversation. He seems to have a very high opinion of you. So, I am asking, as a friend of James, what do you think of him.'

'He is….' I struggled to find the words.

Arrogant and Smug were the first things that came to mind.

I knew he wasn't really like that, if that day at the manor was anything to go by. I knew he hid behind his sarcasm and confidence a bit.

I struggled to sketch his character completely, and that intrigued me. Despite all the arrogance and wit, I liked him. I enjoyed the conversations we had, and the jokes we shared.

'Go on, be honest.' Christopher said.

'He is a bit arrogant.' I answered before I could stop myself.

Christopher laughed.

'Yes, he does come across that way a bit.' He told me. 'But once you get to know him, he is actually very witty and intelligent, and very caring to those who mean a great deal to him. He told us you had a nickname for him, but he would not tell us what. Please tell me, I would love to know.'

'Lord Smug.' I said.

Christopher actually stopped walking to laugh at that one.

'Very accurate.' He managed to get out through his laughter. 'I can see why he likes you.'

Once we started moving again, we fell into an easy conversation about the upcoming wedding. He said he had a list of final checks he needed to perform today to make sure everything went smoothly. I knew I had things to do, but I needed Ella to tell me what they were.

We finally arrived at Ella's door. Christopher knocked gently, and a moment later it was opened to reveal Ella, already dressed and it looked like she was in the middle of writing, her right hand held a quill and a few ink smudges.

Her face lit up when she saw Christopher and myself, though it was probably more to do with Christopher's presence than mine.

'Oh, I am so glad you are here. Come, I am making lists for you both.'

She took Christopher's hand and pulled him inside, I followed. Jaqueline was already there, sitting on the sofa in Ella's room. She was also writing what seemed to be a list of tasks.

'Marion, please sit, I have not finished yours quite yet. Oh there is so much to do!' She said, gesturing to the sofa. I took a seat next to Jaqueline, and started reading her list.

'This is your list, my love.' She said, handing Christopher a note, covered in writing. He glanced down it for a moment and then looked up at her.

'Ella, my dear, can I ask you something about this item here?' He inquired. 'In private?'

She nodded and they both left the room, walked into the corridor and shut the door behind them.

I looked at Jaqueline, and she looked back at me, and then we both burst out into giggles.

'Oh my days, they are terrible at lying, aren't they.' I said.

'They really are.' She replied, 'But I think it's sweet.'

I heard something.

'Wait, shush. They are actually discussing something!' I exclaimed. It was true, we could hear muffled sounds of a conversation.

'They were actually telling the truth!' Jaqueline whispered. We listened in silence for a moment, but then the muffled voices fell silent, and there was no movement of the door opening.

'No they weren't.' I told her. 'So, what are the tasks for today then?'

'I have to see to the food, make sure that enough has been ordered and such. I do not know what you are doing, but I have been told that we have to be in here at three, Ella is having her final fitting of her wedding dress.'

'Have you seen it yet?' I asked her, curious as to what she had chosen.

'No, she has kept it a complete secret. She told me she wanted you to be here before she showed anybody else.'

I was touched by this. We were snapped out of our conversation by the door opening, and Ella walked in, her face bright red and blushing, with no sign of Christopher following her.

I raised my eyebrow when I caught her eye, and her face went an even deeper shade of red.

'Ella, what took you so long?' I teased. She did not answer me, she just smiled with her head down.

Jaqueline started laughing, and I followed.

Trust Ella to be embarrassed by wanting to spend time with her fiancée. She eventually joined in, and came to sit next to us on the sofa.

'So, today,' She began once we had all calmed down.

'Jaqueline, you are checking the food for tomorrow. Marion, I need you to check the content of the spring drawing room. There should be a maid there who knows what to do. Then, I need you to greet the orchestra, and show them where to set up in the ballroom. I would imagine they would like a practice in their before tomorrow. I then need both of you back here by three o'clock. I am having my final dress fitting, and I would so like you both to see it first. Are we clear on what we have to do?' She asked.

I sat there a little stunned. I had never seen Ella take charge of an event like this before. I had no idea she was this organised. I nodded, and then added.

'Yes, I am clear, but two questions. One, what is in the spring drawing room?'

'You will find out when you get there.' She responded. I waited for her to elaborate, but she clearly was not going to.

'Two, can someone show me how to get there? I got lost on the way here, and I have no clue how to get around this palace.'

Ella nodded, and moved to pull the rope that summoned a servant. She then sat down at her desk and began writing.

After a few minutes, she handed me the note, and told me not to open it until I got to the spring drawing room. I was very curious now as to what exactly was inside the spring drawing room, but I did not open the note. A knock came from the door, and a maid walked in.

'Please will you show Marion the way to the Spring drawing room? I would be very much obliged if you would.' Ella told the maid.

She had always been very polite to servants.

The girl nodded, and I followed her out of the room, with Ella shouting 'No later than three o'clock' after me.

We arrived at the spring drawing room, and the maid told me she had to go, they were cleaning out the bedrooms for the guests due to arrive that day.

I knew how much work that took, so I thanked her, and told her to hurry back. I stood outside the room for a moment, and cautiously opened the note Ella had written for me.

Inside was a list of my sibling's names with space next to each one. My father was also on the list. I was very confused now, so I pushed open the door.

Inside were eight mannequins, each with a label stuck on. There were eight different outfits, very well made adorning the mannequins, each varying in size.

Six male outfits, and two female. When I looked closer, I saw that the labels had the names Alexander, Daniel, Clara, Richard, Tom, Robbie, Gwen and Mr Brown written on them.

Ella had given my family clothes to wear for the wedding. Yes, they were quite simple by comparison to what I would be wearing, but they would fit in with the rest of the wedding party.

I glanced down to the bottom of the note.

' _I am not quite sure what size each member of your family is, so I took a guess. Please adjust them so they will fit. I hope they will like them. Ella.'_

I silently thanked Ella for the gift. I was sure they would all love these clothes. After spending a year at home repairing and stitching most of their clothes, I was quite confident I knew their measurements. I realised that was what the space next to each of their names was for. I spotted an inkwell and quill on a table, and started writing them down.

A small knock came on the door, and two maids came in, their arms full of sowing baskets and pin cushions. I recognised one of the girls as the one who brought me breakfast that morning.

'Excuse us miss, but we were told to assist you with some alterations.' One of them said.

'Yes, thank you.' I told them, still in a bit of a daze.

I thought one fine dress was a huge gift from her, but another eight? She really was an angel.

We set to work. I told the girls what measurements Alexander and Daniel were and I set to work on Clara's dress.

It was nearly perfect, just an inch or two long for her, and that was quickly remedied.

Father's did not need any altering at all.

Richard's and Tom's were a little short, so we applied a patterned ribbon along the bottom to make the coats slightly longer.

All the boy's outfits were in the same style; shirt, cravat, waistcoat, trousers, and coloured jacket that matched the cravat.

But they all were different colours and had different decorations on so they would look similar, but not exactly the same.

The girls had a similar designs as well. Gwen had an adorable pale pink dress, that puffed out at the sleeves and would swirl when she turned around.

Clara's also had puffed sleeves, but they did not seem childish on her design, in pale lilac. Her dress was composed of a bodice and a long chiffon skirt, and I thought it would make her look as pretty as a princess.

It did not take very long to adjust all the clothes, they were nearly at the perfect size already, so by the time the clock on the mantle struck midday, we were packing the outfits into a waiting trunk.

The maids then carried it out of the room. They said that Ella had arranged a cart to take them to my home so they could try them on, and arrive at the palace tomorrow fully dressed.

I thanked the girls for their time and help, and they left.

I paused for a moment, I was not completely sure of my next task. I knew it was something to do with the orchestra, but what?

I was saved however when a footman entered the room and told me that lunch was being served, if I would like some. I was not really hungry, that breakfast was more than I normally ate in a day, but I nodded, and thought I might see Ella to thank her.

I was escorted to the dining room. My sense of direction in the palace was getting slowly better and better.

As I walked, I wondered. I had always enjoyed sewing, and I thought I was moderately good at it, clearly the girls in the village thought so.

My mind was driven to distraction all those days when I was stuck at the house, doing all the boring chores and cooking. I hated it. I wanted to do something else for the rest of my life.

My family certainly needed the money, so if I could just make Father see that I would be much more useful going away and finding work, I was sure he would let me. As much as I loved my siblings, I wanted independence, not having to clean up after them all the time, not have to cook for them every day.

I arrived at the dining room. There were people already there, helping themselves to food which was set up on a table on the side of the room.

Jaqueline was there, so was Christopher and his Father, but no Ella. She must have been running late.

I moved over to the small table and added a little to my plate and sat down next to Jaqueline.

We talked about our mornings, she had been busy organising the kitchens and the food. There was such a vast quantity of it ordered, that some of it was being made today, and baked tomorrow. The supplies kept running out due to the high demand, and constantly had to be restocked.

She looked a little dazed when we spoke, after her morning of running around trying to get things sorted. She told me she was still quite shy, so the cook had let her use her private room to organise things out of, and the cook would be the one delivering the instructions to the staff.

Our talk was interrupted however, when the doors to the dining room were opened, and a familiar face walked in beaming.

James had arrived.


	21. Chapter 20- Interludes.

Chapter Twenty.

James strode through the room, with all the confidence of an arrogant highborn who had just had a fantastic morning. He was practically jumping with joy.

'Ladies and Gentleman, I bring news! I have done it.' He exclaimed in a loud voice. 'The spectacular Sir James Thor- Marion!' He noticed me, and stopped his sentence.

'Good day to you.' He said in a quieter voice, bowing his head slightly.

'Hello.' I replied, secretly happy to see him. I had actually been looking forward to our promised dance at the wedding tomorrow.

There was a moment of silence where he smiled at me, not the arrogant smug smile I had gotten used to seeing, but one of genuine feeling.

'James?' Christopher interrupted, shattering the effect, and making James snap out of his daze.

'Yes. Here you go.' He said, walking up to behind Christopher's chair and threw down an envelope in front of him. The smug grin returned to his face. 'I knew it.'

Christopher picked up the envelope carefully, and pulled out the contents halfway. His eyes scanned the paper quickly, getting darker and darker the further down he read. Before he reached the end, he forcefully pushed the paper back into the envelope, made his excuses and walked out of the room.

I guessed that he had just received the information he had been waiting for, and he did not look best pleased. James placed his plate down and took the seat opposite me, and began eating.

No one spoke.

Minutes passed.

I felt a kick under the table, against my leg. I looked up from my plate suddenly, surprised

I glared at James, but he didn't even look up from his food. I did see his eyebrow quirk up however. My mouth fell agape with the pure cheek of him.

I kicked his shin back, and he still would not look up. The only reaction I got was that he raised his other eyebrow.

That was not the reaction I was going for, and so I aimed a little higher and kicked again, with more force this time.

This time I was satisfied. I clearly hit a nerve, as his leg moved violently and hit the table, making it judder.

He hid it with a loud cough, very obviously fake, and pretending he had swallowed something down the wrong way. He made his apologies to the Duke and then returned to face his meal, not without first a glowering look to me, with his stupid smug smile gracing his face once again.

I returned to my own meal, with a small amount of satisfaction. The moments dragged out into minutes, and still no one spoke.

At long last, the Duke rose from his spot, thanked us for the company and left. The air in the room relaxed. The Duke was perfectly polite, but he had an intimidating presence which still set me on edge a little. After all, he was still the man who owned the very soil we lived on, his power over our lives was far reaching and absolute.

I finished my plate of food quickly and made my excuses. I still had the task of the orchestra to organise.

I stood up tall and walked swiftly out of the room. I saw Jaqueline give me a knowing smile out of the corner of my eye before I left.

I continued down the hall. I did not slow down when I heard footsteps moving quickly towards me. I did not turn around when I heard loud breathing behind me. I simply continued forward, going about my business.

It was only when I felt a strong hand grasp around my right wrist, and pulled me round to face him, did I stop walking,

'And where exactly do you think you are going?' He asked, his green eyes sparkling with the joy of teasing.

'I have things to attend to.' I replied, trying to sound as unaffected as I could.

The truth was more complicated than that. There was some emotion inside me at that precise moment, one which I could not place. It was strange not knowing exactly how to describe what was happening inside my head, a place where all things inside it should be understood by me.

'And are these things which you need to attend to more important than greeting me properly?'

'I already said Hello to you. Is that not greeting enough?'

'No, I do not think that is adequate.'

'Then how may I greet you adequately?'

He did not respond, but lent forward slowly. I watched as his face came ever closer to mine.

I froze, completely unsure of what to do. Then, just before we came into contact with each other, he tilted his head to the side, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I could feel the small amount of stubble on his face brush against me. He pulled back, my eyes following his retreating face.

'I think that's how friends greet each other.' He told me.

The word 'friend' hit me like a lightning bolt, and set my mind reeling.

Was that all that was between us? I had friends, but none of my past experience with friendship prepared me for this. It was possible this was what it was like having male friends, I had not had one before. There were boys and young men in the village that I got along with, but would not really consider to be a friend.

I pulled myself out of my daze.

'Now that we have greeted each other, I really do have matters to attend to.' I said, in the calmest voice I could muster.

'Like what exactly?'

'I am to escort the Orchestra to the ball room and help them set up and prepare, when they arrive.'

'They are not here yet?'

'No.'

'So, why are you walking in the direction that leads away from the front door?'

I cursed my idiotic sense of direction, not out loud of course.

'Exercise.' I told him, as haughtily as I could.

'Well, do not wear yourself out, you need to be full of energy tomorrow. I believe, you promised me a dance and I never forget a promise, especially one from a lady.'

'But I am not a lady, only a servant in a nice dress.'

'No, you are a lady, you just do not live like one… yet.' He said, with a mischievous glint in his eye.

'That would be a nice thought. Now, if you would be so kind as to point me in the correct direction of the front door, I would be much obliged.'

He raised his hand and pointed right past my head, to the exact direction we had both just come from.

'Thank you very much.' I said, turning around.

'Wait one moment, you have not said farewell to me.'

I turned around slowly, determined to glare seriously at him. His hand was still pointing behind my head, and as I turned around he brought it closer and closer to my face, until it was cupping my cheek.

He lowered his head again, much swifter this time, and gently kissed the other one. I could feel the blood rush to my face. My palm started sweating slightly and I felt strangely warm. He pulled away as quickly as he advanced.

'Goodbye My Lady.' He said.

'Goodbye, Lord Smug.' I responded. I turned on my heel and walked away, hearing the sound of his laugh echo in the hall around me. I did not let him see the smile on my face, I simply kept walking.

I found the front door with surprising ease. I had begun to recognise the way once I got near to the ballroom, and I knew the way from the ballroom to the door thanks to the night of the Ball. The front door was open and I stood just inside the entrance way, gazing out on the beautiful gardens that surrounded the palace.

I had not really noticed how lovely they were before. It was dark on the night of the ball, so I could not see them, and yesterday, I only drove through them briefly. Everything was immaculate. The lawns were cleanly cut and uniform, the hedges trimmed, the flower beds meticulously planned and executed.

The flower beds were what intrigued me the most. There was a veritable rainbow of colours, ranging through many different species of flowers. Red roses, violet Lilacs, Sunset coloured tulips, cerise hydrangeas, pearl white snowdrops, sunkissed yellow irises. They covered the beds, spreading shades of colourful life all over the gardens. The beauty of it all stuck some nerve inside me. It soothed me, filled me with happiness. I could have happily stood there and taken in the view all day.

I lost track of how long I stayed there. I was not completely sure when exactly the orchestra were due to arrive but I did not mind the wait.

Somewhere behind me I heard some footsteps in the distance. I turned away from the view and towards the sound. There was a footman walking towards me, dressed in the palace uniform of grey.

'Excuse me Miss, but will you require assistance to carry the instruments when they arrive?'

I replied I would, and he bowed to me and turned away to go in search of more people. I returned my attention to the gardens.

A small summer breeze picked its way down the main garden before me, ruffling the grass and leaves before making its way to me, forcing my hair to fly out of my face and behind me and picking up my skirt slightly.

The scent of fresh air, grass and flowers hit me, and I revelled in it. I could resist no longer and walked out of the door to sit next to the nearest patch of grass. It was covered in daisies, reminding me of the meadow outside our house.

I knew I probably had a while to wait, so I began picking the longest daisies and collecting them into a pile. I poked a hole in the stem of a daisy and threaded the next one through it, creating a longer and longer chain. The last one was looped back through the first one with great difficulty. My head was bent over the daisy chain and my attention focused slowly on the problem at hand. I did not notice that I was being watched.

'You said you needed assistance Miss Marion?'

I looked up away from the flowers in my hand and saw a familiar ginger haired boy staring down at me, with a smile on his face.

'Jack! Hello.' I clambered to my feet. 'How are you?'

'Good. You look very well. And rich' He added after a moment, looking at my dress.

'It's just borrowed. Ella gave it to me.'

'Ella? As is the bride to be?'

'Yes, that's her.'

'I did not know you knew her.'

'I used to be a maid in her house until her father passed.'

'So you are close friends with her, if you are here as a guest.'

'Yes, I am a bridesmaid tomorrow.'

'Oh,' He said, surprised. He opened his mouth to say something else, but thought better of it.

'I wanted to thank you.' I told him. 'For the dance lesson. It really helped. No falling over.'

'You're very welcome. I glad you did not fall on your face again. You seemed to be enjoying yourself.'

Confusion raced through my mind. How did he know I enjoyed the ball?

'I beg your pardon?'

'Did you not enjoy yourself? You seemed to be smiling for most of the night.'

'Excuse me?'

'Your green dress was quite distinctive, it was easy to spot you.'

I suddenly remembered. Jack had said he was working at the ball, so he must have been there. I had completely forgotten.

'You were there.'

'At least your dancing had improved.' He said with a small smile.

Embarrassment surged through me. He even told me he was going to be there. The Blood rushed to my face.

'I am so sorry, I completely forgot.'

'There is nothing to apologise for.' He replied, 'It was just nice to know you were having a good time.'

'So, you watched me?'

'No.' He said, his head angled slightly down. I continued to look at him and then he said is a small voice. 'Maybe a little.'

'Why?'

'At first, I was interested to see how you would dance, but then….' He stopped.

'But then what?'

He did not reply. We fell silent for a minute.

'So, why are you here now?' I asked in a desperate effort to break the silence.

'My lord is here for the wedding, and so I came along. The housekeeper does not like idle people, so when you asked for assistance, I was told to come straight up here. I did not know it was you making the orders.'

'It is a little strange. I am not used to giving orders rather than taking them.'

'It must be. Enjoy it while it lasts. Or are you now a noblewoman, elevated by being friends with the bride to be?'

'I wish. After the wedding I am back to normal life of cooking cleaning and raising children.'

'Children?' He sounded truly shocked. 'Are you married?'

'No, I meant my siblings. Gwen is only six, and our mother passed away a year ago.'

'Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that. So do you only look after Gwen?'

'No, all of them.'

'Dare I ask how many is all of them?'

'Seven; Alexander, Daniel, Clara, Richard, Tom, Robbie and Gwen.'

'At least you will never be lonely.' He added.

'No, I just crave the peace and quiet of the manor house I used to work in sometimes.' I told him.

'I can quite believe it.'

Our conversation came to a halt. Jack's eyes wandered down to my hand, where I still held onto the daisy chain.

'Is that a crown to go along with your new wealth?' He asked. I smiled at his joke.

'Why, yes it is.'

'Then, will you allow me the honour of crowning you?' He teased.

I moved my hand up, to give him the daisy chain, and he reciprocated. Our hands only touched for a second, when I felt a jolt of pain in my hand. I wrenched it back, accidentally dropping the chain as I did.

Jack also pulled his hand back from the force of the electric shock. I noticed I had dropped the flowers and bent down to pick them up. Jack moved at the same time as me, but somehow got to them before I did.

He carefully held them up, trying to make the correct shape for a crown with them gently. He reached his hands forward and I bent my head a little, not looking away from him. The flower crown was deposited on top of my head without incident.

'I hereby crown you, Marion, the most improved dancer in the shortest time.' His eyes moved to mine, 'And the prettiest girl at the Ball.'

He was close enough again that I could make out each of the freckles decorating the bridge of his nose.

I smiled again, and shook my head gently.

'No, I think that honour goes to Ella, by quite a distance.'

'I may have to disagree with you there.' He said shyly.

I was halfway through trying to think of a coherent response to this, when we were interrupted by the arrival of several more servants, some footmen and some maids.

When that other footman said he had gone to get more help, he had really meant it. There were about another eight servants who came to join us. Jack stood up, and offered his hand to me, to pull myself up of the ground.

We did not have to wait long. Only about two minutes after the servants arrived, there was a loud commotion of several carts and carriages made their way towards us.

The carts were full of oddly shaped case, which I guessed contained the musical instruments.

I tried to compose myself, after all Ella had designated me to be the welcoming lady to them, so I had to play the part of a confident polite young lady, friend of the future Duchess.

I pulled myself upright, trying to keep my back as straight as possible and my head up high.

The carts stopped, and a smartly dressed man climbed out of the nearest carriage. I cleared my throat.

'On behalf of the Duke, Lord Christopher, and his bride to be, we welcome you to the Duke's palace. If you care to follow me, I will show you were to set up, and you may practice there if you wish to.'

I had rehearsed this little speech in my head ever since Ella told me I would be greeting them that morning.

I let out a small inaudible breath once I finished in relief.

'Thank you, if we could have the cases of music and stands brought up by your servants, the musicians can take their own instruments.' He told me.

I was a little startled by the fact he called them 'my servants'. As is I would ever be wealthy enough to afford a single servant, let alone an entire household.

I did not correct him however, it was fairly pleasant, being mistaken for a highborn lady.

Turning around, I began to walk up to the door of the palace, leading the line of musicians towards the ballroom.


	22. Chapter 21- A Dance.

**Chapter Twenty One.**

The Orchestra got set up surprisingly quickly, it was the tuning of the instruments that took the time.

After a journey in the carts, they had all gotten very out of tune with each other. So as I waited for them to tune, I assisted some of the maids, who were trying to sort out the music, distributing it to the correct member of the orchestra.

Unfortunately, the maids who had been tasked with this could not read very fluently.

I overheard them trying to sound out the name of the instrument written on top of each page of music. I took control, I sorted the music into the various piles, and got the maids to distribute them to the correct person.

When we were finally finished, the conductor of the orchestra stood at the front of the players and told them they would quickly rehearse some of the dances, before the wedding celebration tomorrow.

He picked up his baton, and beat one bar of a four time, and the orchestra began to play. It was a gavotte, I recognised the melody from the night of the ball.

The servants who had come to assist carrying the things up to this room had left once their job was done, I knew they had much to do before the next day. I had not noticed that Jack had stayed behind.

I felt a tap on the shoulder, and spun around to see the vibrant shock of ginger hair, and those strangely coloured eyes.

He didn't say anything, simply held out his hand, and a silent invitation to dance hung in the air.

I lifted my hand and took his. There was no electric shock this time. We made our way to the centre of the ball room quietly and waited for the music to begin the new phrase.

Then we moved forward, stepping in time with the music and each other, turning towards and away from each other as we made our way down the room.

Once we reached the end of the room, Jack spun me around himself, and then took hold of my other hand as well. I tried to remember the steps of the dance he taught me those weeks ago.

I found it surprisingly easy to remember.

I knew when to spin, when to step away, and when to step back to him. Before too long the dance had come to an end, and I curtsied to him, and he reciprocated with a bow, not letting go of my hands.

There was a moment of talking and then the music started up again, this time a slow waltz.

'May I?' Jack whispered quietly into my ear.

I nodded, trying desperately to ignore the Goosebumps that were forming on the skin on my neck, where he had whispered. I did not know why I was reacting so, but I did not have much to wonder as we began to sway in time with the music.

Jack's arm circled my waist and his hand landed on the small of my back, and it felt strong and firm.

My own hand found its way to his shoulder. The position we found ourselves in made it impossible not to look at him directly. He was slightly taller than me, so at least it kept my head up.

The phrase began, and Jack took the lead, stepping to the side, and I followed, performing the waltz step just as he had told me to.

The music swirled around us, but I did not know the tune, and I was too distracted to notice.

Jack's eye's never left my own. We were moving around the room now, perfectly in sync with each other.

His eyes, the strange jewel colours that they were, were wide, and his pupils slightly dilated, making them appear darker.

I wondered what was so intriguing about my own eyes, there were a boring grey colour, but I did not raise the question.

The tone of the music changed and built. The atmosphere changed and so did our dance. We moved on from the basic waltz step, and Jack twirled me around, into his arms and back out of them again.

We let go of each other for a moment to both moved in opposite direction, lifting our arms and the dance demanded.

When we moved back together, Jack wrapped both his arms around my waist and lifted me into the air, spinning me around as he did.

It felt like flying.

I was to wrapped up in the magic of the moment to notice the slight pain in my sides where his hands were.

My head tilted upward, and I took in the climax of the music and the sensations with my eyes closed. I had no coherent thoughts, just pure bliss for one perfect moment.

Jack slowly lowered me to the ground, and I was snapped out of my daze, my feet firmly back on the ground. The waltzing continued, but the music was coming to an end, and so it slowed down.

We returned to the basic step, and with one final spin away, the music ended, and I sunk into a low curtsey, with my head lowered.

I needed a moment to regain my breath and collect my thoughts. I had never before experienced a dance quite like that.

There was a small clap that came from the orchestra, and I turned to face them, my cheeks a little red. I gave them a gracious bow of my head and a smile.

The applause stopped, apart from one.

One solitary person continued clapping in a slow manner.

They were not in the orchestra however, but stood on the far side of the room, in the doorway.

Myself and Jack both turned ourselves around to look, and I found myself staring at James. He had no smile on his face, smug or otherwise, just an intense gaze.

James began to walk towards us, but not looking at me, looking at Jack. He was too far away so I could not tell the exact expression on his face, but he definitely was not smiling.

'Well done, that was quite a dance you two.' James said.

'Thank you.' I replied.

'And who is this fellow? Marion, I do not believe you have introduced him to me.' James asked.

'This is Jack.' I told him, gesturing to him.

Jack stuck out his hand in front of him.

'Jack Hale.' He said.

'Sir James Thorne.' James told him grasping Jack's hand and shaking it. In my mind, I noticed how James had emphasised the 'Sir' part.

'I feel as though I have seen you before.' James said.

'I am in the household of Lord Weston. I was here working at the Ball.' Jack replied.

'Ah, you work for Adam. I was his school mate at Ashburne.' James exclaimed.

I was not quite sure, but there was something in their tone of voice which set me on edge a little.

'May I ask how you two know each other?' James continued.

'I met Marion in the woods on the morning of the ball.' Jack informed him. 'I taught her how to dance. I believe you enjoyed the fruits of my labour.'

'How so?'

'It was you who I saw dancing with Marion at the Ball, am I correct?'

'Yes, we spent quite a lot of time dancing that night.'

There was definitely something in the air now, I could feel it.

'So, you have me to thank for the fact she did not fall over or step on you.'

I could feel my cheeks burning at this point.

They seemed to be talking about me like I was not standing right next to them. I decided to break up the conversation with a loud cough. Both of them turned to look at me and I could not help but notice the difference between the two of them.

Jack was smaller, skinnier and lighter than James. He had a narrower frame, which made his head appear slightly bigger than it was. The features of his face were also narrower too, but not massively so. His chin came to more of a point and his entire face was longer than James'. The bright colour of his untidy short hair made the colour of his eyes even more predominant.

James by comparison was broader and taller, but not massively so. He was well proportioned, and so looked older than Jack. Jack looked a little like he was still waiting to grow into his body a little. James' dark hair was longer but kept perfectly neat and tidy. His face was broader, and he had high cheekbones that stood out. James' looked very much like the hero's I had always imagined in my head when I read stories.

I had to stop thinking of that, as they were both still staring at me. I replied in a quiet voice that I had a tickle in the back of my throat, that was all. It wasn't true, but it was the first thing I could think of to say.

'If you do not mind,' James began, 'May I enjoy more 'fruits of your labour' by dancing the next one with Marion?'

Jack did not say anything.

James held out his hand to me, smiling as he did. 'My lady, may I?' I took his hand and replied I would. He gave the back of my hand a quick kiss, and we walked to the middle of the room.

The orchestra began to play a minuet, and we took up our positions. I glanced back at Jack, who smiled at me. I gave him a small smile in return.

I turned around to face James, and he had turned on his charming expression again. The dance began, and we promenaded around the room, hand in hand. I was not quite sure how I felt about this dance, it was very different than the last one, and I was not completely happy with the way James had just spoken to Jack either. I kept my thoughts to myself, and tried to focus on the steps.

'Do you know that man very well?' James asked in a quiet voice.

'No, I've only ever met him once before. But he was ever so helpful.'

'How exactly?'

'You did not see my attempt at dancing before I arrived at the Ball. He taught me how not to fall over.'

'Were you really that bad?'

'When he found me, I was flat on my face, after failing to perform a polonaise step.'

James chuckled.

'So, he is simply your dance tutor?'

'Yes, and my friend.' I told him.

'Nothing more?'

'No.'

'Good.'

'Please do not dislike him, I would hate it if two of my friends did not like each other.'

'Two of your friends? Who exactly are you referring to?' James asked, looking very confused.

'Jack and yourself.' I replied. I had thought I was being very obvious.

James' confused expression stayed on his face. I rushed explain myself.

'You said earlier that we were friends, you certainly greeted me as a friend. If I was mistaken, I apologise, we can be acquaintances.'

I did not want to lose his friendship, he was a very entertaining individual, and charming when he wanted to be. I worried that I had gotten the wrong impression of him, and he did not want to be considered friends with an unemployed servant girl.

James took a second, and then smiled. 'Yes, of course we are friends, at least until you step on my toes. I cannot allow that.' He teased.

The grandfather clock at the edge of the room, began to strike the hour, and I noticed it struck three times. Something in the back of my mind told me I had forgotten something.

It hit me like a bolt of lightning, that I had promised Ella I would be there at three for her dress fitting. I dropped my hand out of James' and stepped backward.

'I am so sorry, I have to go. Ella is expecting me at three.' I told him.

James nodded.

'Well then tomorrow, we will have to finish this dance, and you still owe me one. He reached forward and gave the back of my hand another kiss. I gave him a quick curtsey.

'I'm sorry.' And I began to walk away hastily.

As I approached the end of the room, I found myself near Jack again, who looked very confused.

'I have to go, Ella is expecting me.' I told him quickly.

'Oh, I probably have things to do as well. Maybe I will see you around the palace?' He asked.

I nodded and said goodbye, and proceeded to walk out of the ballroom, leaving James and Jack both staring after me.

I practically ran all the way up to Ella's room. I had finally just about learnt enough about the geography of the castle to not get lost this time. By the time I burst through the door, I was out of breath and had red rosy cheeks due to the exercise.

Jaqueline was already there, and offered to get me a glass of water once I almost collapsed into the nearest armchair. Ella was already behind the screen changing into her dress, but she shouted a hello to me.

Once I could breathe properly again, I made my excuses to them both. Ella being the lovely person that she was told me to think no more of it.

Myself and Jaqueline waited in anticipation of what exactly her dress looked like. I knew she would look utterly stunning whatever she wore, but I was still curious to see exactly what she had chosen.

'How is the food preparation going?' I asked Jaqueline.

'Good, I think nearly everything is ready for tomorrow.' She replied. 'The cook seems to have everything in hand now. There was a moment when we thought we were going to run out of sugar, but the delivery boy was very efficient at getting our order to us quickly. Is the orchestra all ready?' She asked me.

'I think so. They sounded very good when I left. I still am not completely sure what exactly what help I was, but they are about ready.'

'Then this should be the last thing to do, and then we are all set.' Ella shouted to us from behind the screen. 'Alright, I am coming out.'

Ella emerged slowly from behind the screen.

Her dress was snow white. A tight bodice clung to her every curve, pinching to a small point at her waist. Her skirt flared out around her hips and continued into a long train following her. There were small golden embroidered patterns sown into the skirt along the bottom of it. A golden sash was tied around her waist in a small bow. Her shoulders we covered only by a long piece of lace that ran along her neckline, and draped over her shoulders for modesty. The neck line of the dress made a large and wide U shape. She did look like an angel.

'What do you think?' She asked us.

'Oh Ella, you look so beautiful.' I said.

'You really do.' Jaqueline added.

Ella's face lit up, and the she glanced down to admire the dress.

'The outer skirt comes off. I have to untie the sash, and the entire outskirt comes off. There is another one underneath in the same style that I can wear so I can dance at the celebration without tripping over the train.'

I felt so happy for her. She looked practically radiant, and it was so nice to see her so happy after all the hardship she had been through. She was marrying the man she loved the most in the entire world, anyone who saw them together could not doubt the affection they held for each other.

In that moment, I was reminded of Sir Henry and Lady Eleanor and I was sure they were looking down on their daughter from Heaven, and smiling. All they ever wanted for her was to be happy. They really loved her so, and I was sure if they were still here, they would be overjoyed at the moment as well.

The corners of my eyes started to water.

Thinking about Sir Henry inevitably made me think of my own mother. I wished that she was still here as well. I had always imagined as a child that if I ever got married, I wanted my mother and my father to walk me down the aisle and be happy for me.

I was now never going to see that dream realised. Not that I was planning on getting married any time soon.

But this was Ella's day, she was the one getting married. She would undoubtedly be missing her parents on such a special day.

As much as I tried to control the tide of emotions within me, I did not succeed.

A few tears came pouring out of my eyes, and I could not hold them back. Ella immediately looked concerned.

'Marion, what is the matter.' I tried to compose myself.

'I was just thinking how happy your parents would be right now.' I told her.

Ella smiled a sad smile as she heard this. Her own brown eyes started to water a little at this.

'Do you really think so?'

'Yes, they would be so proud of you Ella.' I told her. I knew it was true.

The tears began to pour out of her eyes now, and I moved closer and embraced her.

I tried not to crumple her beautiful dress any more than was necessary. After a brief moment, I pulled away from her and she tried to brush away the tears before they stained her dress.

We both smiled at each other, and Ella looked past my head to Jaqueline and extended her arm. Jaqueline walked closer and joined up in our embrace.

'Thank you both, so much. For everything.' Ella said quietly. 'I love you both.'

Neither of us responded. We both knew and reciprocated the feelings.

All of us just stood there, feeling excited for the next day and utterly content with the present moment.

A smile graced my face. I had a feeling that my mood was only going to be improved over the next day. And I looked forward to it.


	23. Chapter 22- The Wedding Ceremony

Chapter Twenty Two.

The day of Ella and Christopher's wedding dawned warm and bright. I was awoken by a servant early in the morning.

A bath was drawn for me, and the maid ushered me into it as soon as I rolled out of bed. She told me that I needed to be ready as soon as possible. There were bubbles resting on top of the hot water, and I spent far too long playing with them and being childish.

The maid returned and started to wash my hair for me and scolded me slightly for getting water and soapy bubbles everywhere. I was too excited for the day to care much.

My hair was washed quite vigorously by the maid, and then I was out of the lovely warm bath and dressed in a dressing gown while my hair was being dried with towels.

Once the maid was completely certain that there was no water residue left in my hair, she brushed it and began to style it.

It was pulled back into a low loose bun with a few strands left out to frame my face. A small golden ringlet that I had never seen before was placed on the dressing table. It was light and intricate, there were little flowers and leaves made out of gold that were woven into the design.

It was so beautiful

The maid lifted it onto my head and secured it with some hair pins. She then picked up the small hand mirror to let me look at myself. I was taken aback for a minute, I looked so different, and I liked it.

I thanked the maid and was pushed out of my room by her towards Ella's room. My dress was hung up in Ella's Room, along with Jaqueline's.

So I moved as fast as I could to her room, very aware I was still only dressed in a dressing gown, and I did not want to run into anyone in that state of undress.

In Ella's room, another maid was busy styling Ella's hair. Jaqueline was yet to arrive, so I sat on the sofa and waited. Ella was told she was not allowed to move her head so we tried to talk, but it proved surprisingly difficult.

So, to make proper use of the limited time we had, I was asked to sit in a chair near the table while a maid opened up a small box. Inside were cosmetics.

I had never worn cosmetics before, we had never been able to afford any. It was definitely a unique experience; having rouge applied to my cheeks, powder placed on my eyelids and colour put on my lips.

When she was finished, I grabbed the mirror to see. For the second time that day I was taken aback by my own reflection.

I actually looked pretty.

Verging on beautiful.

I was truly shocked, that I could look like this.

'Marion, you look amazing.' I turned to look at Ella who had just finished having her hair and cosmetics applied.

She looked truly stunning. She also had a golden circlet resting on top of her head, but hers was larger than mine and had coloured jewels set into it.

'You should see yourself.' I joked.

Jaqueline then arrived, with her hair styled the same way mine was. She was also subjected to the same treatment as me with the cosmetics, although she did not look very happy with it.

When we were all done, the seamstress entered the room with Ella's wedding dress, stitched to perfection.

The Palace housekeeper also entered the room with the seamstress. She was a very efficient woman called Prudence Harris.

From what I had heard around the palace, she was very strict, a stickler for detail and fiercely loyal to the Duke and Christopher. I had heard Ella speak of her with great admiration and I think some affection.

Trust Ella to be the person who would get one of the strictest housekeepers on the planet to like her.

Prudence told us to hurry and get changed, there was not long left before the ceremony, only about two hours. To me, that seemed like plenty of time, but to Prudence it meant that we were behind schedule.

Jaqueline and myself were pushed behind the two separate changing screen and given our dresses to change into. I stepped out of the dressing robe I was wearing and tried to get the dress on as quickly as I could, goose bumps were already starting to form on my arm due to the lack of clothing.

I pulled the dress up as carefully as I could and tried to tighten the laces at the back as far as I was able, but as with most fashionable dresses, it was impossible to do by yourself. Whoever originally designed back laced dresses clearly hated the thought of women independently dressing themselves, so I guessed it was a man.

Also, whoever decided that women's waists should be squeezed into the smallest shape possible by corsets also clearly did not have to wear them.

I almost preferred my normal working day dress, yes it was cut to show off my figure, but it did not lock me in shape like some caged animal.

I stepped out from behind the screen and the maid helped me pull the rest of the laces tighter and secured them. The one good thing about this dress was that my back was perfectly straight as long as I wore it. I did not even have to think about it.

The thing that took the most time was assembling Ella's dress. The layers of fabric and over skirts and underskirts took a while to figure out which piece was going where.

And with the help of Myself, Jaqueline Prudence, the seamstress and a maid, we eventually managed to dress Ella. With her face made up, her hair perfectly styled and the small crown securely nestled in her long golden curls, her dress and her beaming smile she did look utterly breath taking.

Something told me that when it would be a sight to see when Christopher looked at her for the first time that day. And not only was she stunning, she also looked stunningly happy, as if all her dreams were coming true, and she could not wait to be Christopher's wife. I did feel genuinely thrilled on her behalf.

She did not have to wait very long. The start of the ceremony arrived faster than I had anticipated. We did the pass the two hours very quickly with talking.

Before I knew it, Jaqueline and myself were stood outside the door at the back of the church, well more like a cathedral. We each had a small bouquet of flowers in our hands, matching the colours on our dresses and we were stood behind two small girls who I had been told were Christopher's cousins or his cousin's children, I could not quite remember.

They were to be the flower girls and had a small basket of loose flower grasped tightly. They told me that their names were Charlotte and Elizabeth, but they preferred Lizzie and Lottie.

They seemed very confident for a five and a seven year old.

They also seemed to adore Ella, I think they thought she was a princess out of a storybook, the way they looked at her. Ella told them lovingly that they were to walk down the aisle dropping the flowers as they went, smiling all the way down and go and sit next their parents when they got to the end.

They nodded and took up their place at the front of the line. I was to follow the girls once they got to the end, with Jaqueline behind me.

I knew she took precedence over me as a highborn and family to Ella. I truly did not mind though. I had grown to like Jaqueline through everything, and she was more bold and confident now, joking with Ella and me, making conversation and actually making fun of her sister and mother. She appeared to really care for Ella, and had apologised profusely for the way she was treated in her own home.

I really did like her.

Prudence informed us it was time, and the door opened a little, and Lizzie and Lottie walked through, beaming as they did. I knew I only had about a minute before I had to follow them, so I turned quickly to Ella.

'I know you do not need it, but good luck.' I said.

'Thank you Marion.'

'We all love you, you know that. I do, Christopher does...'

'I do as well.' Jaqueline added.

'And your parents do too, wherever they are, they are watching right now, and I am sure they love you now.'

'I love you too.' She told us, and opened her arms for a quick embrace, taking Jaqueline in one arm and me in the other.

'Last embrace as an unmarried maiden.' I joked, and she laughed.

'Good, I do not want to be unmarried anymore.'

'Oh, well I shall have to find you a groom then.' I teased 'I wonder if Lord Christopher would be willing to marry you?'

'I have to hope so.' Ella said. 'But I hear he's getting married today.'

'Shame, I thought you two were perfect for each other, and you would be very happy together.'

Our conversation was cut short, by Prudence frantically trying to put us back in position as we were about to go. I turned my head back to her and mouthed.

'Good Luck.'

She nodded in response, and then the doors were opened and I turned back to face the front and began to walk slowly down the Aisle.

The Church was completely packed full. I did not recognise many people, I guessed a lot of them were society's elite who were only here because it was the social event of the year instead of to actually celebrate the union of Ella and Christopher.

I tried to keep my pace steady and my head up high, completely aware of the hundreds of pairs of eyes currently on me. I passed unnamed face after unnamed face making my way down.

About half way down the aisle, I spotted my entire family sat in a pew, all wearing the new clothes I had altered the previous day, and they so far hadn't torn their clothes, or covered them in mud or food. I caught the eye of my father who gave me a proud smile and a nod as if to say 'focus on the task ahead, not us.' I kept the same smile plastered to my face and kept walking.

As the front of the church into view, I could see Christopher stood in front of the alter looking back down the aisle. He appeared to be looking at Me and Jaqueline, but I was sure he was not the least bit interested in us, he was waiting for Ella.

I eventually made it up to the steps just before the alter and climbed them, thankful that I had not tripped up or made a fool of myself. I took my position off to the side of the alter, opposite from where Christopher stood with his groomsmen. Jaqueline stood slightly in front of me, just like we had rehearsed the day before.

I noticed one of the groomsmen was staring directly at me, and I slowly moved my neck to see who it was. I was met with the smug smile on a familiar face with green eyes staring at me. I gave him an equally smug smile back.

Just then, the music on the Organ started up again, and the doors opened to reveal Ella. I could not help myself, I beamed as I saw her.

My eyes flitted off to the side to see Christopher's reaction to Ella.

His face displayed pure awe. He looked completely entranced by her. His chest stopped moving for a moment, and his mouth fell slightly agape. Once she moved closer, he seemed to snap out of his daze and possibly the largest smile I had ever seen spread across his face. I do not think I had ever seen anyone so purely happy.

Ella made it up the steps to the Alter, her smile not faltering once as Christopher took her hand and they did not take their eyes off each other.

The priest cleared his throat and that seemed to drag them back to reality, and Ella blushed and handed her bouquet of flowers to Jaqueline.

The priest began the ceremony, but in truth I did not pay much attention to it. I was caught up in watching the two of them. They had not let go of each other's hand, and I could see Christopher rubbing it gently, as though he was soothing her. And Ella seemed to be gripping him tightly, so they could not be parted from each other.

My entire life, I had read stories. A lot of those stories told of epic and true loves, the type that would endure no matter what. The kind where the two people would travel across continents just to be with each other. The type of love that would make them need each other, just to continue breathing, continue existing. Desperate, passionate, deep, splendid. I had read about it often. I had always thought that this love was confined to the pages of fiction, to folk stories and romantic tales. But as I looked at Ella and Christopher, I knew instantly that kind of love did exist in real life, and I was staring at two people who had found it in each other.

They exchanged their vows of love and fidelity, and I knew they would not have any trouble keeping them.

To be honest, the service passed in a bit of a blur, and it was over fairly quickly. It was when the priest announced that Christopher may kiss his bride, that I started to pay attention to what was happening again. I had never actually seen the two of them kiss before, but the happiness they felt and the love they had for each other came across in a big way.

With large smiles, they turned to face the congregation who were applauding them and started to make their way back down the aisle as husband and wife.

We were meant to follow directly after them. Throughout the ceremony, James was stood behind Christopher, mirroring where Jaqueline was stood. There was another man stood behind him, opposite where I was stood, I recognised him from the Ball, I think his name was Phillip.

We were told when we practiced in Ella's room last night that a groomsman would escort us back down the aisle, so I presumed that we would pair up with the man opposite us.

James however, clearly had another idea.

He practically grabbed Phillip and pushed him in front of him and whispered something in his ear. Phillip looked a little confused, but started to walk towards Jaqueline and offered his arm.

I knew exactly what he had done and I was about to scold him for it, but James raised his eyebrow and gestured with his eyes to the hundreds of people still in the congregation who would be looking at us any second as Ella and Christopher were almost at the door.

So I reluctantly took James arm, not without a quick pinch to his fore arm as punishment.

Why couldn't he simply just follow the precession like everyone else?

We walked in silence, still smiling at the gathered people. I even dared to give my family a small wave. James turned his head just at that moment and saw Tom, Robbie and Gwen give me large return waves, and the rest of them gave me some form of acknowledgement.

We continued walking in silence until we finally got to the door and we could relax slightly. Our pace increased as we had to catch up with the rest of the wedding party which were heading to the carriages that were ready to take us back to the palace. I tried to extract my arm from James so it was easier to move quickly, but he kept a firm hold on me.

'Why did you do that? In front of everyone?' I asked.

'Why not?' He responded.

'Could you not just follow the order were placed in? It was very simple.'

'I am sure it was, but I wanted to walk down the aisle with you, Marion, not her, whatever her name is.'

'Jaqueline, her name is Jaqueline. Surely you must have been told that.'

'I probably was, but she is not going to be my sister in law, unlike Christopher, so I didn't listen.'

'So you would only pay attention to someone's name if they were going to be related to you in some way?' I teased.

'Yes, of course Marion. Why bother learning everyone else's name.' He teased right back. I noticed the particular emphasis on the word 'Marion'.

We were out of the church, and began to make our way towards the carriages.


	24. Chapter 23- A Carriage Ride.

**Chapter Twenty Three**

We reached the carriages and James handed me into the nearest one, Jaqueline and Phillip were already sat in it on opposite sides. I took the empty seat next to Jaqueline and James climbed in and sat across from me. He was about to shut the door, when Prudence's face appeared looking into the carriage.

'You have space. Squeeze these two in, will you?'

I looked down and she had Lizzie and Lottie in her two hands. She quickly pulled them up the steps of the carriage and deposited them inside, before disappearing as quickly as she had appeared.

No one had chance to stop her or say the carriage was full. I shifted slightly and so did Jaqueline, and we found we could easily make space for one small girl. The boys on the other side though were larger than us, and couldn't make space to fit them in.

'Stand up' I said to Philip. He looked at me curiously but obeyed.

'If we swap places, we can fit them in.' I explained. Philip nodded and with some difficulty we maneuvered around the small carriage and two small girls. I almost fell into the empty space next to James, but moved up the carriage as far to the window as I go manage in order to make space for Lizzie.

She was just about to sit down when James moved to block her path.

'Would you like to sit next to the window, young lady? You could see outside and you wouldn't be squished in the middle.' James told Lizzie.

She nodded and rather excitedly sat down next to the window, and Lottie asked Phillip if she could sit on the end as well. In order to accommodate Lizzie by the window, James moved up so his side was pressed against mine.

The backs of our hands were pressed together uncomfortably, I could feel all his bones. It was evident that he could feel it too, and so moved his hand upwards, and rested it on top of mine. I thought I felt his fingers curl around trying to grasp my hand when the carriage jolted forward and displaced his hand.

Lizzie and Lottie started talking, their small voices full of energy and excitement. I guessed it was the first wedding party they had been a part of. They told us of their new dresses, the flowers that were in their hair, the new dancing shoes their parents had given them.

They reminded me of what Clara was like at their age. If we had been wealthy, I was sure that was exactly what would have consumed her every waking moment.

Gwen would have been interested, but I think having more brothers her age had turned her into a bit of a tom boy. James was actually surprisingly good with the girls, he asked them about their day and if they were looking forward to dancing later, and generally entertained them during the short trip.

I listened to their conversations and tried to add to them when they fell silent. As we rounded the final corner, and saw the palace down the long driveway, I noticed something reach for my hand out of the corner of my eye.

Before I could do anything about it, I felt James' fingers wrap themselves gently between my own. It felt pleasant and comforting, and nice. His thumb traced the shape of skin between my forefinger and thumb, gently, as though it was a fragile thing that needed to be treated with great care. I was going to move my hand away from his, to further tease him, but I couldn't seem to get the message from my brain to my hand.

It seemed perfectly happy to just stay there, so I gave up the notion. James though seemed completely calm about it, not even looking at me while he held on, and continued his talk with the girls. I tried to ignore it the best I could, but I had never had a young man wish to hold my hand before, other than while dancing.

I turned my face to look at him. I couldn't deny he was a handsome young man. He was very attractive when the smug expression disappeared from his face and was replaced with a genuine smile.

When he spoke to it was normally in jest, but I hoped that there was some emotion behind it.

I caught a hold of my thoughts.

I hoped for some emotion.

I actually hoped for James to have an opinion of me.

And I hoped it was a good opinion.

I wanted him to think well of me.

I cared about what he thought of me. I knew what I thought of him.

He was a man who put on a face of arrogance and jesting, but actually cared deeply for his friends and was clearly very intelligent. He made me feel happy, and he made me laugh. I enjoyed being around him.

I knew what I was feeling, but did not really want to admit it to myself. However, there was no avoiding my overactive brain once it was settled on a thought.

I liked James. I really liked him.

And I hoped he liked me.

The carriage pulled to a stop outside the front of the palace and the door was opened. Lizzie and Lottie were the first to disembark, followed by Phillip and Jaqueline.

James and I waited patiently for them to move past us. I felt a pressure tighten around my hand, squeezing it and then it was gone, and James' hand too.

James moved quickly towards the door, and I followed. He climbed out deftly and offered me his hand again to help me down. We walked through the front door and stood just inside the entrance way where Ella, Christopher and the rest of the wedding party were stood.

I finally got a chance to congratulate the happy couple. Ella looked so radiant she was almost glowing, and Christopher too. We were not alone long, as the first of the guests started to arrive, and it was the newlyweds job to greet them. The rest of us were moved along to make space for the new arrivals.

I took the opportunity to escape the party and go in search of the nearest lavatory. The tight dress was doing nothing to help my bladder.

By the time I emerged and found my way back to the ballroom, many more guests had arrived. I looked around trying to spot anyone I knew, until I was almost knocked sideways by a small figure rushing into my legs.

I looked down and found the dark hair of my baby brother Robbie. He was quickly followed by Gwen, looking truly adorable in her small pink dress.

'Marion! You look like a princess!' Gwen squealed. 'Do you like my new dress. I'm a princess too!' She twirled around, letting her skirt fly out in all directions.

'Yes Gwen, your dress is lovely, and you are a little princess.' I tried to bend down, but my dress made it impossible.

The rest of my family followed them, all looking very well in their fine new clothes.

Clara in particular seemed to relish in the chance to be a highborn lady for once in her life. She did look very pretty in her lilac gown. There were purple flowers woven into her hair, and I noticed that some pink ones had been fixed into Gwen's hair as well.

My father walked over to me and embraced me. He told me I had done a fine job at the church.

'If I didn't know it was you, I thought I was looking at a true lady. You look a lot like your mother, you know.'

I knew he missed mother, he missed her every day. He had never once thought to move on, to find another wife, or at least he never admitted it to us. The pain of her passing was still evident, even after a year.

He told me not to dwell on such things, it was to be a happy day of celebration, so we should enjoy it while it lasts.

I spotted Lizzie and Lottie stood in the corner of the room, they were trying to sneak small cakes into their mouths before anyone noticed them.

I took Gwen and Robbie by the hands and told Tom to follow. The flower girls I was sure would make great playmates for my younger siblings, and at least keep them entertained for a little while.

'I do not think they are for eating just yet.' I told the small girls. The turned their crumb stained faces up to me in shock. They both looked a little scared of being caught.

'Don't worry, I won't tell.' I whispered. 'This is Gwen, Robbie and Tom. I think they would quite like some cakes as well, will you get some for them?'

They both nodded their heads in unison, and I let go of my siblings and walked away, leaving them with the girls.

As I walked back to where the rest of my family were stood, I saw the strange sight of my Father, Alexander and Richard talking with Sir James. I stopped dead in my tracks.

I could actually feel the panic start to build in my stomach. I wasn't quite sure why I was so nervous that James was talking to my family, but it didn't stop me from feeling it anyway. I approached them apprehensively.

'Ah, Marion, there you are.' My father called to me. 'This young man claims to be the James you said you danced with at the Ball.'

'Please tell Mr Brown that I am telling the truth.' James asked me.

'Yes, father. This is Sir James Thorne.' I told him.

'Your brother Alexander here was just telling me how much they've missed you for the last few days.' James informed me.

'We missed your cooking 'Arry.' Alexander said. 'Daniel tried to make some soup, but it was not the same.'

'Then clearly tomorrow, I need to start giving you all some lessons. You cannot be dependent on me forever.'

'But there is no rush.' Father said.

'Good, because next time someone tells me its carrot soup, I actually want more carrots than hot water in my bowl.' Alexander joked. 'Really Arry you should have seen it, Daniel actually served up a bowl of hot water, with some vague carrot flavouring in it.'

'It's true. It was disgusting.' Richard piped up. I thought it strange that he spoke in front of James, Richard was very shy and did not usually speak before complete strangers.

The conversation lulled, until James started up again.

'So, I understand that there is many Browns around the room. If they are all as friendly and charming as Marion here, I should like to be introduced.'

'Well, you know me, Alexander and Richard here.' Father said gesturing to each person in turn. 'Daniel and Clara are over there by the fireplace, talking with Lady Jaqueline.' He explained waving his hand in their direction. 'My youngest three are over there by the table, with those two flower girls.'

'And the youngest three are called….'

'Tom, Robert, even though we all call him Robbie, and Gwen.'

'So, correct me if I am wrong, there is you, Mr Brown; Marion, Alexander, Richard, Daniel, Clara, Robbie… and the last 2 are… wait, I will remember…. Gwen …. And Tommy?'

'Tom' I corrected.

'I'm sorry, Tom.'

'Do you have any siblings young man?' Father asked James.

'No, alas I am all alone. My Father is still alive, but we are not very close at all. He paid for my education, and I say hello to him when I see him in the hallway at home, but other than that, I am alone in the world.'

'Oh, how horrible for you.'

'No, I am quite content. I would much prefer the distance from my father than to be in his confidence. I'm afraid he never has a pleasant thing to say. I would much rather be merry and laugh far away from him. The company here is far more agreeable.' James took a small sip of his drink and glanced at me.

The room was almost full now. People were mingling around, chatting and adding to the atmosphere of the place. My eye wandered and saw my sister Clara talking with a young man, around her age. I could not see his face, only the back of his blonde head, but I saw Clara's expression. It was the same expression she had on her face when she listened to the romance stories I told her in her childhood. I knew Clara, she was fanciful and a dreamer. I had feared as she got older that the moment she met a boy, she would begin planning her wedding ceremony in her head.

My head told me to interfere, but my heart would not let me. Clara didn't go to the ball, she was too young at fourteen. She always wanted to be a fine lady, or preferably a princess who falls for a prince with a tragic past. This was maybe the only time she was ever going to be allowed to dress up and put on airs and graces and enjoy herself like this.

So, without saying anything I turned around and left her to her own devices.

The wedding celebration was about to start.


	25. Chapter 24- The Celebration

**Chapter Twenty Four**

The Orchestra started up, and the conductor asked the Bride and Groom to step into the centre for the first dance. Ella and Christopher took the space in the middle of the dance floor, still hand in hand with each other and the orchestra began to play.

I recognised it instantly.

It was the first waltz played at the ball, the one where Ella and Christopher had danced together for the first time. We all watched them again spellbound.

Their eyes never left to others. They were perfectly in sync, one body, one mind, one heart. It did look exactly like something out of a fairy story. When the dance drew to a close, Christopher bowed and Ella curtsied, and then Christopher pulled Ella up so she was standing face to face with him, and drew her in for a kiss.

It was only brief. Christopher then turned to the crowd and announced, 'I have the pleasure of Introducing, My Wife.'

The crowd applauded, and my clap was fairly pronounced. The Happy couple then walked away, back towards the guests as they had a duty to greet them all.

'Excuse me my lady, but I think we agreed you owe me this dance.'

I spun around to James' voice.

'I believe you are correct sir.' I said. He reached out to take my hand, and gave a small bow over it. When he stood upright again he gave me a look of shock.

'Did Marion Brown just admit I am right? What a Joyous day this is!'

'I said you were correct about the dance, theirs no need to be so smug about it.'

'Well I am after all Lord Smug, I think as you like to call me?'

'You're not all the time.'

'True, but I will own to the title you have given me. It is far superior to my current legal title.'

We began make our way to the dance floor.

'You were the one who pointed out how smug I was, the least you could do is support me as I come to terms with my own personality.'

'Very true,' I told him. 'How hard for you to have to face your true reflection of self.'

'Ah, my lady, it is slowly eating away at my soul having to face my own arrogance.'

'Then I will endeavour to support you.'

'Will you indeed?'

The music began and I fell into a curtesy.

'I will try, Lord Smug.'

We began to dance.

'Could you not call me by my real name?' He asked me. 'We were doing so well, to go back to formal titles will set back my progress at recognising myself.'

'So, Sir Thorne.'

'James.'

'Sir James'

'Please?'

'Alright, James.'

'And if I must call you James, then you must call me Marion, not my lady.'

'May I still be permitted to say my lady, if I choose to?'

'If it suits you to, then you may. But I don't know why, I am neither yours nor a lady.'

'Well,' started James, but he was cut short by the dance forcing us to change partners. I wondered how exactly he planned on finishing that sentence.

The man who I was now dancing with was much older than me and looked familiar. It was only when I turned my head fully to look at him, did I realise it was the Duke. His face still held the same stern expression that I always saw, and he scared me a little still.

I tried to be as polite as I could, I asked him how he was enjoying the celebration, but either he did not hear me or chose to ignore me. I was grateful when the dance returned us to our original partners.

James' roguish grin could be felt before it could be seen. I knew he had come up behind me, and I could sense the smile on his face.

'Enjoying your dance with the Duke?' He asked.

'Yes immensely!' I replied. 'In fact, we really bonded and I think I'm falling in love with him!'

'Don't you think he's a little old for you?'

'Well, as his son is no longer available, he seems quite the catch.'

James roared with laughter.

'My Lady Marion, a fortune hunter! Whoever would have guessed it.'

I didn't respond, only batted my eyelids in a mocking manner. We fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the dance.

Towards the end, one question tugged at my mind. The music ended and I curtsied to James and he bowed to me, before taking my hand quickly and bestowing a light kiss on it. I tried to keep the blood from rushing to my cheeks but I failed epically.

He began to escort me away from the dance, when I had to ask this question, so I began to direct the both of us to the secluded corner of the room. James looked a little confused by this, but didn't question it.

'I have to ask.' I said. 'Yesterday, when you arrived, you were about to announce something to Christopher before you stopped.'

'I stopped because I saw you.'

'I apologise for being curious, but what were you going to say? Whatever piece of information you gave Christopher, it clearly made him very upset, and I was wondering what it was.'

'Really Marion? You don't know? You were the one who suggested it in the first place!'

'I beg your pardon?'

'It was the day we rescued Ella. You mentioned that her Stepmother had made her a slave in her own house. The key phrase there was 'her own house.' Christopher asked me to do a little digging both on the day of the rescue, and a little since.'

'And you discovered what exactly?'

'I found it strange how when I asked Lady Kingston to produce the deed to the property, she did not have it with her in the house. Or a copy of Sir Henry's will. She claimed she had sent it to a friend for safe keeping. Anyway, I contacted Sir Henry's man in town and he said last year he had sent him with a copy of his will to the record keepers in town. This was the day before his death. The man had promised Sir Henry that he would be along in 3 days time to collect the other copy of the will, the one that Sir Henry was going to get his new wife to sign. When the man arrived at the house, he was told Sir Henry had died and there was no need to collect it, and he found this suspicious as he knew the contents of the document. So, he hid in the house until dark, apparently in the attic and found the copy.'

'And what exactly was in Sir Henry's will'

'In a nutshell, Ella was to inherit everything, and Lady Kingston was going to be provided only a small widows income. There was a note attached to it written in Sir Henry's hand. I think he knew he was getting sick. It was dated the day he died, as was Lady Kingston's signature on the will.'

'So she knew, all this time she knew she was never going to own the house!'

I had to stop for a minute. I thought I hated the woman before, but now, words could not even begin to describe what I was feeling.

'Yes, according to the documents, that day Sir Henry arrived home, got his wife to sign the will, and explained to her she was going to get nothing from him, wrote a note about the nature of their relationship and his decisions, and then succumbed to his illness.'

'And what did the note say?'

'It explained why he married her. When he was in town staying over after a party, someone came into his room, a woman. He was about to tell her to leave when the door opened again and someone saw the two of them in the room together. The lady demanded he make this right and marry her for compromising her impeccable reputation. Sir Henry felt obligated be honour to do so.'

'So she tricked him.'

'It would appear so.'

'And Ella, what does this mean?'

'It means for the past year, she has had guests in her house that forced her into slavery. They also seemed to slowly drain away her inherited money, while at the same time never touching a single coin from their own coffer.'

'How much did they take?'

'Marion, maybe we should go...'

'How much James?'

He took a deep breath.

'Ella now has about a tenth of what her father left her.'

Pure rage erupted inside me. Lady Kingston had taken away her money, her freedom and her happiness for an entire year!

'Marion, there is no point being upset now, its all in the past. Ella doesn't know of this yet, and Christopher would like to keep it that way, until at least after the wedding.'

'Can anything be done about it?' I asked in a quiet voice, the anger evident in it.

'Christopher is debating legal action, but the evidence is the word of a dead man who wrote it as he was dying. In order to prove the charge of cruelty, Ella would have to testify and show evidence of beatings and maltreatment, and I think he wants to spare her that indignity.'

'So we can do nothing. We just let her get away with it?' I could hear my tone of voice getting higher and higher as the angrier I got.

'No, we will not do nothing. But at the moment, we have to get the facts straight, and work out how we prove it.'

I simply stood there in silent anger. I wanted to put needles through her eyes, I wanted to trample her under a horse, I wanted her to die of the fever, just like her husband and my mother, only this time she would deserve it.

My vision clouded and I tried to breathe deeply but the stupidly tight dress made that impossible. The orchestra was starting up again and I felt dizzy and slightly nauseous.

Without saying a word to James, I made for the door as quickly as I could.

The air felt cool on my face, their was a slight summer breeze that felt pleasant. I gulped down as much of it as I could. I could hear footsteps behind me, but I focused on trying to breathe. The only words that were going through my head were too rude to write. When I called her a bitch a year ago, I only scratched the surface. The monster that lay beneath was... I did not know how to finish that sentence.

'Marion, are you alright?' I didn't respond with words, only lifted my hand up to signal to give me some space.

'I'll go and find you some water.' I heard him say and felt his presence disappear. I spotted a small bench just a little way away in the garden. I made my way towards it.

The dizzying started to get better, and I could breathe again, despite my corsets best effort to stop me. Once the anger started to subside, I just felt upset.

I know that I was not the one that was being stolen from, but it upset me to know that Ella had been so abominably used. And I had done nothing to stop it. Even though I had helped rescue her a few weeks ago, I had lived an entire year and done nothing.

I had done nothing to help her. She was my friend and I had let her stay there. I may have not been to blame for her maltreatment, but I felt just as guilty. I could have got her out. I could have stood up for her. I could have hidden her away somewhere.

But I did not.

The guilt spread through me. I felt the bench move as another person sat on it. My head turned at see my brother Alexander sat there.

'Alright Arry?'

'Not really.'

'What's wrong?'

'I... I mean...I didn't do anything.'

'I don't understand.'

'I just left her! I didn't fight.' There were tears streaming down my face now. Alexander didn't ask again, he just wrapped his arms around me and held on.


	26. Chapter 25- A Commoner's Dance.

**Chapter Twenty Five.**

I returned to the celebration once I had calmed down. Alexander was the most comforting presence. He stayed with me as long as I needed and shooed away James when he came to give me the water.

As much as I liked James, at that moment, I just wanted to be left with my brother. Alexander did not push what was bothering me, he only asked if it was about Ella, and I nodded.

Once I had cleaned myself up and tried to stop feeling so guilty, Alexander guided my back into the ballroom and told me to wait for a moment. A few minutes later, he returned with Ella. Her look of concern broke my heart, she really was such a sweet person.

I desperately did not want to ruin her wedding day. She didn't know yet and it seemed cruel to ruin one of the best days of her life. I decided to let her new husband break the news to her when the time was right,

'Marion, are you alright? Your brother seemed worried.' She asked me.

'I'm fine, really.' I replied, not believing a word of it.

'Marion.'

My mind panicked, trying to think of some excuse that wouldn't involve giving away the real reason behind my foul mood.

'It is only that my courses arrived, and I'm feeling emotional.' I told her. It was quite possibly the worst excuse on the planet.

'Really Marion?' She said. It was evident she didn't believe a word of it.

'Yes, it's your wedding day, and I'm allowed to feel emotional!' I said. Her expression didn't change. She was waiting for me to tell her the real reason. I was frantically trying to think of literally anything that would relieve me of this situation. An idea struck me.

'It's really... well, this is going to sound silly but... it's so lovely to see you so happy, and you deserve to be, but I'm certain I am never going to find what you and Christopher have, even if I look for a thousand years.'

'What are you talking about? Everyone can find love.' She cried. Apparently she bought that.

'Ella, I've never really spoken to a man, other than James, and after this celebration, I'm going to have to go back home to a life of cooking and cleaning for my family. It's not going to happen.'

'Don't be so ridiculous, I met Christopher completely by chance in the forest while I was still cooking and cleaning for my family! Love can alway turn up in the place you least expect it! Now come on, I am not going to permit this type of talk at my wedding.'

'Alright, if the Bride commands.'

'I do, now, you must dance with someone! Especially if you are so worried about never finding the love of your life. My mother always used to say 'Fate can only go as far to put the two of you in the same place, the rest is up to you.' So, Marion, the rest is up to you.'

Even though I didn't need the advice, I appreciated it all the same. So I thanked her, and told her to return to her new husband, he must have been missing her by that point.

She didn't argue and left immediately to go and find him. I skirted around the edge of the ballroom. Observing the dancers was quite entertaining. They moved with a rhythm and flowed so gracefully, they looked like a stream of water. I spotted various members of my family dotted around the room. Gwen was still playing with Lizzie and Lottie, Richard had found a boy around his own age to converse with.

Daniel was actually talking to a girl, A GIRL! As I watched I noticed that she laughed a lot at whatever he was saying. That didn't surprise me, Daniel had always been the joker of the family, and his sarcastic manner of speaking often left people in hysterics.

I adjusted my position, I had been leaning against a wall whilst lost in thought for a while and my side was now in slight pain. And my corseted dress wasn't helping on that account. How highborn women wore them every day I would never know.

My gaze wandered to Ella who was talking with the Duke. They seemed friendly enough with each other. Of course it would be Ella who would make one of the sternest people in the country like her.

I could see Christopher conversing with some wedding guests, one of who I recognised as the aloof man I had danced with very briefly at the ball. While Christopher looked perfectly content, his friend wore a scowl, like he was perpetually moody. I also noticed that Christopher would frequently turn away from his conversation to glance at his blushing bride.

I tried to spot the rest of my family, but another target caught my eye.

James was stood, not 30 feet away from me, talking with a lady. Her shimmering black hair seemed to taunt me slightly as it moved while she laughed at something he had said.

My heart stopped.

He had his back to me, so I could not gauge his reaction to the conversation, but if it was anything similar to what the raven haired lady's feelings, then he was certainly enjoying himself.

In my head, I knew I had absolutely no right to be jealous. I had know James a grand total of a month, and in all that time he had never suggested that I was anyone special to him. And I don't think I ever told him my own feelings towards him. I hadn't had the chance, after all I had only really discovered them earlier that day.

But that did not make any of the feelings disappear. I had just thought... I never completed that sentence in my head.

I had never experienced jealousy before, I had only read about it in books and stories. It drove people to all sorts of unpleasant things, and I was beginning to understand why.

It did truly feel like a stab of ice through the heart. I tried to ignore it. I truly did try. But I was still feeling down over what had happened to Ella and I think in my vulnerable state, my mind decided to fixate on the reaction I hadn't even seen James give, and make my emotions go far higher than they should have been.

I breathed deeply, damning my corset in my mind.

My foot took one step in the opposite direction to where James was stood, and my other foot followed. The next step was easier. And the next.

I could feel the tears pricking the edge of my eyes again. I choked them down. I was not some pathetic child who cried every time something didn't go their way. I was strong young woman, who could keep her feelings in check for the rest of the celebration.

My feet unconsciously led my back to where my father stood. He was enjoying a glass of fine wine, and looked a little lost. I thought that, living his entire life under these people's shadows, meant that he feared talking to the higher born guests a little. I understood him, I was still scared to talk to the Duke, and I would never have spoken to James or Christopher, had they not tried engaging with me first.

'Ah, Marion. There you are!' He spoke to me gently. 'What happened to that charming young man you know?'

'He is otherwise entertained.' I replied, hearing the icy tone that lined my own voice, making it sound foreign to me.

'Oh, he's one of those young men is he?'Father asked.

I simply nodded.

'Well, forget about him.' He said. 'You are far to feisty to let him get away with that, so it's better to just forget him now.' I started to blush. I stammered a little.

'He is... I mean, he and I... We're not...'

'Marion, please, I am not blind.'

'I know you are not, but...'

'And I think I know you well enough to work out your feelings on the matter.'

'But...'

'And I know you are far far to good for him.'

'Father!'

'What? It is the truth.'

I only rolled my eyes. I had never had a conversation with my father about young men before, and it was quickly embarrassing me.

'Father, I don't want to talk about it, please.'

'Ok, but if he comes up to me, do I have your permission to punch him?'

'No, of course not!'

'Why not? I can tell you are mad.'

'Because this is Ella's wedding and you will not disrupt it by starting a fight.'

'Fine, I will just stare at him until he gets the message.'

'Just please do not do anything!'

'Alright.'

We stood in silence for a minute.

'Why don't you dance?' My father asked me,

'It's a wedding celebration, you should be dancing.'

'I haven't been asked to.'

'And? When has a small thing like that ever stopped you before?' I smiled at him.

Although I was terrible at dancing like a lady, there were a few easy country dances I knew quite well.

If only I had a contact who could get the orchestra to play a certain piece of music?

Oh wait, I was one of Ella's Bridesmaids!

I scanned the room to find Ella, it wasn't like she was particularly difficult to find with her golden hair and white dress. She appeared to be finishing her conversation with the Duke, and so I made my way over to her. She waved as she saw I approached her, and excused herself promptly from the Duke.

'Marion! Found any charming young men yet?' She joked.

'No, but I have an idea.' I made sure to drop my voice so the surrounding nobility did not hear. I knew they would disapprove of my plan.

Ella on the other hand seemed rather captured by the idea, and beamed at me.

'Leave it to me!' She said excitedly.

I tasked myself in rounding up the people who might go along with my idea. My siblings, my father, Jaqueline and myself. Ella said she would bring her new husband, and he would try and find some other people up for it.

Once the orchestra finished the Minuet, I saw Ella talk quickly with the conductor. He nodded and she made her way back into the centre of the room, near where I was stood. She gave me a conspiratorial wink, and nodded to the conductor who was ready to announce the next set of music.

'The next dance has been requested by the new Lady Howards. This apparently is a popular dance from her home.'

There was 16 of us in total stood in a circle in the centre of the ballroom. The nobles looked very confused, but they stepped aside and gave us space to make a large circle. The fiddle started to play a melody I was familiar with, it was a country jig.

In our village every single year, at the May Day celebrations, there is a maypole at the centre of the square. This maypole had many different coloured pieces of ribbon attached to it, and they are so long that children are able to hold on to them. The maypole dancing consists of simple repetitive steps that when done with a ribbon, make a pattern around the pole.

And so, in the centre of the ballroom of the dukes palace, we began to maypole dance. Without the ribbons of course. It began simply, every second person in the circle would remain still, while the others would skip around them before moving onto the next person.

My Father was a still person, and so began to clap in time to the beat, and the other eventually caught on. I was a mobile person, and was trying to keep my skips in time to the music.

I could see that most of the room was staring at us now, but I didn't care. I was enjoying myself, so let them stare. I eventually returned to my original spot in the circle, and waited while those who were immobile became the mobile ones.

I continued to clap in time to the beat. The one problem I encountered was that as I had stopped moving, it now meant I could look around the room properly.

And of course, there was one person stood opposite from me in the crowd who I recognised.

James.

I couldn't quite tell if his expression was one of awe or disapproval. He caught my eye for a second, and I was about to smiled at him, until I noticed the mass of black hair beside him, and then I averted my gaze quickly.

My attention returned to the dance as the mobile people were almost back in their places now. Once they returned, we all held hands and galloped around the circle to the left and back again, followed by the first mobile people skipping into the centre and back out again, then the second group of mobile people doing the same.

The dance then repeated in reverse, as with an actual maypole present, it is necessary to untie all of the ribbons from the spider web pattern that is created during the dance.

Thankfully, due to the skipping around the the circle, my spot had changed slightly, so I was no longer directly facing James. I didn't want to have to look at his smug face.

Maybe that is why he always appeared to arrogant, he was used to women just falling all over him, and I was just another one. I tried to ignore these thoughts and focus on the dance. It was over rather quickly, it wasn't a very complicated dance, and the fiddle drew its final chord.

The crowd erupted into applause, but I could not tell if they were genuinely happy or just glad that the dance was over. It didn't matter much in any case as Ella whispered something in Christopher's ear and he smiled at her before starting to speak in a loud voice.

'The next dance will be the country reel, anyone who knows the steps is welcome to join.'

Most of the high born lords and ladies didn't move, and looked slightly offended at the insinuation that they knew the steps to a commoner dance. The only movement that happened was from some of the guests moving out of the way to let someone else through.

This person finally made it to the centre. His bright red hair would make him stand out anywhere.

Jack smiled at me, and moved to stand next to me. My father gave me a confused look, and I glared back at him, with the clear message of 'I'll tell you later.'

'This dance requires all persons to have a partner.' Christopher told the crowd. 'Are there any young ladies here who would like to pair up with these fine young gentlemen.'

I noticed that the majority of our group was composed of males, my 5 brothers and father, and a few of Christopher's friends.

There was only myself, Ella, Jaqueline, Clara and Gwen as the females for this dance. Robbie paired with Gwen, Clara paired with one of Christopher's highborns, Jaqueline paired with Daniel, and of course Ella and Christopher were together.

Jack turned his head to me.

'Will you do me the honour of taking me for your dance partner?'

I nodded my response. No one in the crowd made any effort to move, that was until Christopher gestured to someone at the edge of all the people. 'You know this!' He cried to someone.

They started to make their way through the people until eventually they reached the front. I knew them. They were some of the maids who had helped me yesterday. There was three of them, all dressed in their best uniform, clean and freshly pressed.

They giggled a little as Alexander and two of Christopher's highborns asked them to dance.

The last movement that occurred was quite tumultuous, as little Lizzie and Lottie made their way to us, and they were the ones who asked Tom and Richard to dance. My father agreed to sit this dance out and observe. I noticed he conveniently place himself in the crowd as to block James view of the dance.

Everyone was now paired up, and we took our places. We stood in two lines, facing our partner. Once again, the steps were very simple, simply moving forward and backwards before joining hands with our partner and reeling down the line. Then the top couple would skip down the end of the line and make a bridge while the other couples went under it.

Jack smiled at me as we started to move forward and back, pulling a funny face when we got close to each other. Laughter bubble inside of me, and I giggled a little.

Christopher and Ella were the first top couple, and they skipped down the line everyone clapped in time with the beat. But their eyes never left each other's all the way down. We are started to cast off down the line to go through the tunnel they had created.

Jack reached for my hand as we went under, and once our hands met, I was once again hit by a spark of electricity which forced my hand to recoil slightly before recovering and grasping Jacks hand. I could tell he had felt it too.

The final step in the pattern was to 'swing your partner' which simply involves holding each other like you would a waltz and spinning rapidly.

Jack held out his arms and I got inside them, standing close as we spun. His face tipped down while we moved, his cheek just brushing the top of my head.

In a matter of moments, the spinning was over and we parted to go back to our lines.

The dance repeated, as Christopher and Ella were now at the bottom of the line, so there was now Alexander and a maid at the top of the line.

As we moved, I noticed a small movement in the crowd behind where Jacks head was.

James face appeared in my line of vision, still with that same expression that I could not tell it's meaning. I tried to ignore him and focus on the dance.

It continued in much the same way, until eventually I found Jack and myself at the top of the line. Whilst all the other couples had simply joined both their hands and skipped down the centre, Jack held out his arms to me again, surprising me a little and we stood in the same position for waltzing or swinging.

There was slightly more distance between us this time as we needed to be able to skip down the line, but this also meant that we were able to stand face to face with each other. Jack had clearly done this before as he not only lead me skipping down the centre, but also began to spin us at the same time.

I barely noticed anything else, I was concentrating on how to stay upright. Jack whispered to me to 'follow my lead' and we did manage to get to the end of the line in one piece.

Once we stopped and made the bridge, Jack beamed at me, and I smiled back. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my father raise his eyebrows at me, in an inquisitorial fashion, and I chose to ignore him. I knew he would get it out of me later.

But for that moment, I was content to be in the centre of a ball, dancing with a friend, wearing a fine gown and purely enjoying myself for a short amount of time.

If time could have stood still for one moment of my life, that would have been the moment I chose.

For that moment led to so much more.

After that day, my life was never quite the same again. But perhaps that is a story for another time.

END OF PART ONE.


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